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THE  FLAG  OF  TRUCE  AT  MOUNTAIN  MEADOW. 


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STAR 


A  ..  OF  IHE  ( 


flVr.  „BLi..>4Jl  PWU  I.  VK%'  • 


The  False  star 


A  Tale  of  the  Occident 


By  a.  d.  gash 


"There's  no  glory  like  his  who  saves  his  country." 

Tennyson — Queen,  Mary. 


Chicago 
W.  B.  CONKEY  COMPANY 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1899 

By  a.  D.  Gash, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washing^ton. 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.     The  Land  of  Zion 7 

II.     The  Hierarchy  of  the  Saints. 22 

III.  Customs  of  the  Saints 26 

IV.  The  First  Words  of  Love 31 

V.     Beneficiary  Ball  for  the  Missionary 48 

VI.     The  Gospel  According  to  the  Prophet 59 

VII.     Death  of  Rhoda  and  Plotting 65 

VIII.     Grief  of  Rhoda' s  Children 79 

IX.     The   Funeral 87 

X.     Treachery  of  a  Missionary 92 

XL     Fate  of  Mary  Hildreth 103 

XII.     Murder  of  James 109 

XIII.  Escape  of  Margaret  Baird 114 

XIV.  Evelyn  as  a  Blood  Atonement 128 

XV.  Martin  Bodenheimer  in  the  Mission  Field.   143 

XVL     The  Betrothal 148 

XVII.     Conference  at  the  City  of  Zion 163 

XVIII.     Willy's  Opinions 175 

XIX.     Attacked  by  the  Mountain  Lions 185 

XX.     T^he  Laying  on  of  Hands 195 

XXI.     Recovering,  Foreboding  Dream 205 

XXII.  Indignation  and  False  Prediction  of  the 

Elders 214 

XXIII.  An  Old  Fool  is  the  Biggest  Fool 219 

XXIV.  TheFeast 226 

XXV.     Disappointment 238 

XXVI.     The  Recommend  Denied 246 

XXVII.     Jed,  the  Rough  Diamond 258 

XXVIII.     The  Blessing  on  the  Highway 273 

XXIX.     Jed  Rescues  Adrian 281 

XXX.     The  Ghost  of  James 292 

XXXI.     Consternation  in  the  Priesthood 302 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

XXXII.     Forced  to  the  Mission  Field 313 

XXXIII.  The  Sorrowful  Parting 322 

XXXIV.  News  from  Across  the  Sea 331 

XXXV.  Wrecked  Fortunes  and  Separations ..... .  337 

XXXVI.  Lola  at  the  Home  of  Lehman's  Fifth  ....  351 

XXXVII.     Lola  Taken  to  Prison 364 

XXXVIII.     Tae  Intercepted  Letters 374 

XXXIX.     Mountain    Meadow 388 

XL.  Conviction  and  Execution  of  Bishop  Lee.  400 

XLL     The  Angel  Gal 410 

XLII.     Lola  and  Sally 424 

XLIII.     Jed  in  Search  of  Lola 439 

XLIV.     The  Discovery 448 

XLV.     The  Forced  Endowment 463 

XLVI.     Good  Tidings 489 

XLVII.     The  Rescue  499 

XLVIII.     Life  in  a  Balance 513 

XLIX.  Memorial  Services  at  Mountain  Meadow. .  524 

L.     Journey  to  the  Coast 533 

LL     The  Wedding '. 538 

LII.     Murder  of  Lily  and  Retribution 544 

LIII.     Statehood  for  Utah 554 

Epilogue 563 


TO 

MY  WIFE  AND  MY  COUNTRY 

This  volume  is  dedicated. 


**He  that  has  light  within  his  own  clear  breast 
May  sit  i'  th'  center  and  enjoy  bright  day ; 
But  he  that  hide;;  a  dark  soul  and  foul  thoughts 
Benighted  walks  under  the  midday  sun." 

Milton — Paradise  Lost, 


THE  FALSE  STAR. 

A  TALE  OF  THE  OCCIDENT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  land  of  Utah  consists  of  fertile  valleys, 
high  mountains,  deserts,  and  plains  which  abound 
in  rushing  streams,  beautiful  canons  and  lakes. 
Chief  among  these  lakes  is  Great  Salt  Lake,  or 
the  Dead  Sea  of  America ;  its  elevation  is  4, 200 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  it  is  twenty- 
two  per  cent.  salt. 

Fifteen  miles  southeast  of  the  lake,  near  the 
foot  hills  of  the  Wasatch  range  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  lies  the  great  city  of  "Zion, "  or  Salt 
Lake  City. 

Utah  valley  lies  thirty  miles  south  of  this  city. 
It  is  a  valley  about  sixty  miles  in  length  by  about 
twenty- five  in  width.  A  beautiful  fresh  water 
lake,  twelve  by  thirty-five  miles,  stretches  along 
and  lies  close  to  the  western  mountains,  which 
rise  rather  abruptly  from  the  water's  ed^e  iintil 
they  gain  an  elevation  of  from  one  to  tw^o  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake/  v^liich  is" 
two  hundred  feet  in  turn  above  that  of  Great 
Salt  Lake. 

The  country  forming  the  valley,  on  the  east, 
north  and  south  of  the  lake,  is  of  rich,  fertile 

7 


8  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

soil,  the  productive  qualities  of  which  almost 
equal  that  of  the  Euphrates  or  the  Nile.  The 
Jordan  river  flows  from  this  lake,  Utah,  into 
Great  Salt  Lake. 

Not  many  years  since,  the  lands  of  this,  and  all 
other  valleys  in  Utah,  were  covered  with  sage 
brush  and  were  the  haunt  or  rendezvous  of  wild 
animals,  such  as  the  jack -rabbit,  wolf,  deer,  bear, 
mountain  lion,  and  many  other  kinds,  all  of 
which  have  mostly  been  killed  out  or  have  fled  to 
the  adjacent  hills,  and  are  seldom  seen  in  the 
valleys,  except  in  very  cold  winter  weather  when 
the  snow  lies  deep  in  the  mountains. 

The  population  of  Utah  valley  is  about  twenty- 
eight  thousand.  The  sage  brush  has  given  away, 
under  the  hand  of  industry,  to  wheat,  corn,  lucern, 
and  most  all  other  kinds  of  products  known  to 
the  north  temperate  climate,  and  the  soil  is  spe- 
cially adapted  to  fruit  growing. 

The  fields  and  orchards  are  watered  during  the 
summer  season  by  a  splendid  system  of  irrigation. 
The  water  is  taken  from  the  streams  that  flow 
from  the.  Wasatch  range  which  bounds  the  valley 
op,  the  east,  rising  in  many  instances  very  abruptly 
from  tlje  valley  to  an  elevation  of  twelve  thou- 
'^sind:  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  largest  of  these  streams  is  Provo,  or  Tim- 
panogos  river,  which  has  its  source  near  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hills  eighty  miles  east  of  Utah  Lake, 
into  which  it  empties.  It  receives  its  supply  of 
water  from  a  vast  number  of  springs  and  from 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  9 

the  heavy  fall  of  snow  which  never  entirely  leaves 
some  of  the  highest  peaks. 

The  flow  of  this  stream  is  very  rapid.  On  its 
way  it  passes  through  Provo  valley,  a  circular 
valley  of  springs,  hot-pots  and  verdant  fields. 
These  hot-pots  are  deep  holes  in  the  earth,  from 
three  to  forty  feet  in  diameter,  whence  hot  lime 
water,  clear  as  crystal,  has  boiled  up  for  ages, 
pouring  over  the  sides  of  these  pots  and  flowing 
away.  The  sediment  of  lime  in  the  water  has 
formed  solid  stone  walls  around  these  holes  which 
have  piled  up  until  they  have  the  appearance  of 
large  vases,  or  pots.  (Hence  the  name.)  In 
some  instances  they  are  a  hundred  feet  in  height, 
and  are  fathomless.  A  stone  thrown  into  one  can 
be  seen  several  seconds  as  it  sinks;  and  long 
after  it  passes  from  view,  it  can  be  heard  striking 
against  the  sides  of  the  walls.  For  miles  around 
these  pots,  a  vehicle  passing  over  the  ground 
sounds  as  if  it  were  running  over  a  bridge. 

From  this  valley  the  river  enters  the  canon 
two  miles  below  Charlestown,  a  small  town  at 
the  west;  and,  for  twenty  miles,  it  dashes  from 
rock  to  rock  so  rapidly  at  times  that  it  is  lashed 
into  a  white  foam.  Onward  it  passes  into  a 
deep  cavern.  It  now  assumes  a  tint  of  green — 
still  so  clear  that  one  can  gaze  far  into  its  crystal 
depths.  Four  small  tributaries  flow  into  this 
river  on  its  way  through  the  canon.  One  of 
these  tributaries  comes  from  far  above,  leaping 
down  a  perpendicular  precipice  two  thousand  feet 


lO  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  the  river.  It  has  been  appropriately  named 
** Bridal  Veil  Falls,"  as  the  last  five  hundred  feet 
of  its  descent  has  the  appearance  of  a  white  veil. 

On  each  side  of  this  canon  are  towering  peaks 
pointing  heavenward  as  if  trying  to  get  nearer 
the  presence  of  the  Great  Creator.  Niagara's 
falling  waters  are  sublimely  grand,  and  to  see 
them,  one  is  struck  with  the  idea  that  he  has  be- 
held the  most  magnificent  scenery  of  all  the 
world ;  here  you  have  not  only  restless,  dashing 
waters,  but  crags,  cliffs,  peaks  and  domes  of 
every  description.  To  wander  up  and  down  this 
canon  on  a  bright  summer  morn  at  sunrise,  and 
behold  his  first  rays  kiss  the  topmost  peaks  is  a 
scene  sublime ;  or  to  angle  for  the  mountain  trout 
in  the  bright  and  sparkling  stream  in  the  midst 
of  these  scenes  is  a  pastime  fit  for  the  Goddess 
Clio  to  record.  The  mountain  breeze,  the  rippling 
water,  the  magpie's  chatter,  the  songs  of  the 
birds,  the  sight  of  an  American  eagle,  as  he  soars 
high  above  all,  lift  the  mind  of  man  to  the  high- 
est degree  of  imagination. 

As  we  pass  the  mouth  of  the  canon,  we  hear 
the  hum  of  industry,  the  cackle  and  crowing  of 
domestic  fowls,  the  lowing  of  cattle ;  these  with 
a  panoramic  view  of  the  whole  of  Utah  valley 
below,  inspires  one  with  the  thought  that  here 
man  should  live  freest  from  crime ;  yet,  this  was 
once  the  scene  on  which  plots  were  laid  and 
crimes  committed  that  were  as  black  and  fiendish 
as  were  ever  instigated   by  man — planned  and 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  II 

committed  in  the  name  of  God  and  the  Lowly 
Nazarene. 

Provo  City  (known  as  the  Garden  City)  is  the 
metropolis  of  Utah  valley  and  the  seat  of  the 
county  of  Utah.  It  is  located  on  the  Timpan- 
ogos,  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley,  five  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  canon,  and  forty-eight 
miles  south  of  Salt  Lake  City.  Provo  and  the 
surrounding  settlements  of  the  valley  have  con- 
tributed their  share  to  those  awful  plots  and 
crimes. 

During  the  years  of  1856-7-8  and  9,  a  reign  of 
terror  prevailed  throughout  the  territory.  Mur- 
der after  murder  followed  in  rapid  succession — 
murder  coupled  with  other  crimes  of  so  shocking 
a  nature  that  the  blood  creeps  and  thrills,  as  the 
soul  of  man  shrinks  with  horror  at  the  thoughts 
thereof.  In  the  midst  of  it  all  the  leaders  of  the 
church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints,  from 
the  Prophet  Brigham  Young  down,  endorsed  the 
same  from  the  pulpit.  The  following  is  an  ex- 
tract from  a  sermon  preached  by  him  in  the  tab- 
ernacle at  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  8th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1857,  which  is  a  fair  specimen,  to-wit: — 

"All  mankind  love  themselves;  and  let  these 
principles  be  known  by  an  individual  and  he 
would  be  glad  to  have  his  blood  shed.  This  would 
be  loving  ourselves  even  unto  an  eternal  exalta- 
tion. Will  you  love  your  brothers  or  sisters  like- 
wise, when  they  have  a  sin  that  cannot  be  atoned 
for  without  the  shedding  of  their  blood?      Will 


12  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

you  love  that  man  or  woman  well  enough  to  shed 
their  blood?  That  is  what  Jesus  Christ  meant. 
He  never  told  a  man  or  woman  to  love  their 
enemies  in  their  wickedness,  never.  He  never 
meant  any  such  thing;  His  language  is  left  as  it 
is  for  those  to  read  who  have  the  spirit  to  discern 
between  truth  and  error;  it  was  so  left  for  those 
who  can  discern  the  things  of  God.  Jesus  Christ 
never  meant  that  we  should  love  a  wicked  man 
in  his  wickedness. 

**I  could  refer  you  to  plenty  of  instances  where 
men  have  been  righteously  slain  in  order  to  atone 
for  their  sins.  I  have  seen  scores  and  hundreds 
of  people  for  whom  there  would  have  been  a 
chance  (in  the  last  resurrection  there  will  be),  if 
their  lives  had  been  taken  and  their  blood  spilled 
on  the  ground  as  a  smoking  incense  to  the  Al- 
mighty, but  who  are  now  angels  to  the  devil,  until 
our  elder  brother,  Jesus  Christ,  raises  them  up, 
and  conquers  death,  hell  and  the  grave. 

**I  have  known  a  great  many  men  who  have 
left  this  church  for  whom  there  is  no  chance 
whatever  for  exaltation,  but  if  their  blood  had 
been  spilled  it  would  have  been  better  for  them. 

"The  wickedness  and  ignorance  of  the  nations 
forbid  this  principle  being  in  full  force,  but  the 
time  will  come  when  the  law  of  God  will  be  in 
full  force.  This  is  loving  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves ;  if  he  needs  help,  help  him ;  if  he  wants 
salvation  and  it  is  necessary  to  spill  his  blood 
on  the  earth  in  order  that  he  may  be  saved,  spill  it. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  IJ 

"Any  of  you  who  understand  the  principles  of 
eternity,  if  you  have  sinned  a  sin  requiring  the 
shedding  of  blood,  except  the  sin  unto  death, 
should  not  be  satisfied  or  rest  until  your  blood 
should  be  spilled,  that  you  might  gain  that  salva- 
tion you  desire.  That  is  the  way  to  love  man- 
kind. .  .  .  Light  and  darkness  cannot  dwell  to- 
gether, so  it  is  with  the  kingdom  of  God. 

"Now,  brethren  and  sisters,  will  you  live  your 
religion?  How  many  hundreds  of  times  have  I 
asked  that  question?  Will  the  Latter  Day  Saints 
live  their  religion?"* 

Think  of  such  unholy  deductions  being  drawn 
from  the  blessed  words  of  Jesus  when  he  said, 
"Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

Under  such  teachings  as  these,  two  hundred 
and  seven  persons  were  murdered,  for  which 
the  Latter  Day  Saints  are  responsible.  These 
unfortunate  people  were  murdered  in  cold  blood, 
because  most  of  them  were  never  followers  of 
their  faith;  while  others  refused  to  accept  and 
practice  some  of  their  infamous  doctrines  and 
had  grown  cold  in  the  faith. 

In  the  autumn  following  this  sermon,  a  com- 
pany of  wealthy  emigrants  from  Missouri  and 
Arkansas,  numbering  one  hundred  and  forty- 
nine,  reached  Salt  Lake  City  bound  for  California. 
They  were  followed  from  that  city  by  an  ever- 
increasing  band  of  bloodthirsty,  thieving  Dan- 
ites,  to  the  southwest  part  of  the  territory,  to  a 

*  "Jourual  of  Discourses,"  Vol.  IV,  pp.  219,  220. 


14  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

place  known  as  Mountain  Meadow ;  there  a  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  were  massacred ;  seventeen 
small  children,  too  young  to  remember  the  awful 
scene,  were  spared.  Sixteen  of  the  children  were 
subsequently  recovered  by  their  friends  and  sent 
back  to  the  states.  One  child,  however,  a  little 
girl,  was  reported  as  a  little  boy ;  but  no  trace 
of  her,  at  this  time,  could  be  found. 

Howard  Allison  and  his  wife  resided  at  Logan, 
Utah.  About  this  time  they  adopted  a  very 
beautiful  little  girl  into  their  family,  supposing 
her  to  be  the  child  of  one,  Phillip  Klingensmith. 
They  shortly  afterward  moved  to  Provo  City, 
where  the  secret  of  her  adoption  was  not  known, 
even  by  their  most  intimate  friends,  for  years 
afterward. 

Shortly  after  this  family  located  in  the  Garden 
City,  the  government  troops  of  the  United  States 
came  into  the  territory,  commanded  by  Gen. 
Albert  Sydney  Johnston.  They  passed  through 
Salt  Lake  City,  camped  on  the  -west  bank  of  the 
river  Jordan.  They  then  marched  south  forty 
miles  fo  a  place  which  they  entitled  *'Camp 
Floyd;"  there  they  established  a  permanent  post. 
This  camp  is  located  in  Cedar  valley,  twenty-five 
miles  due  west  of  the  Garden  City,  and  in  a  direct 
line  across  the  lake  and  the  first  low  range  of 
mountains. 

On  June  i,  i860,  Vernon  Stanton  standing  in  a 
small  adobe  building,  in  this  camp,  uttered  these 
words  to  his  brethren  who  had  just  organized  the 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  15 

first  Masonic  lodge  ever  established  within  the 
bounds  of  Utah,  to  wit : — 

"Veiled  in  purity,  wrapt  in  holiness  and  blest 
by  Heavenly  power,  is  virtue;  steeped  in  sin, 
laid  in  iniquity  and  loved  by  the  blackest  fiends 
of  hell,  is  lewdness." 

He  paused  for  a  few  moments  then  said  further: 

"I  have  traveled  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  been 
in  all  the  countries  of  Europe;  but  here,  in  Utah, 
I  see  more  lewdness,  according  to  the  population, 
than  any  place  I  have  ever  been.  Truly  the 
Scriptures  say,  'By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them.'  •• 

Mr.  Stanton  had  spent  all  his  life,  until  about 
three  years  prior  to  this  date,  at  Rochester,  N. 
Y.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  qualities,  highly 
educated,  and  fine  business  judgment,  honest, 
upright  and  just  in  every  respect.  Although  but 
twenty-six  years  of  age,  his  experience  in  the 
world  had  been  greater  than  many  who  were 
much  older. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  a  young 
lady  of  that  city  Their  devotion  to  each 
other  was  of  the  truest  type.  She  was  a  highly 
accomplished  lady,  and  devoted  much  of  her  time 
and  attention  to  religious  work.  Her  happy  days 
were  brief,  as  she  was  stricken  with  pneumonia 
fever  one  year  from  the  date  of  their  marriage, 
and  three  days  later  she  lay  in  their  beautiful, 
^nd  once  happy  home,  a  corpse. 

The  heart  of  the  strong  man  was  almost  crushed, 


1 6  THE    FALSK    STAR. 

and  for  a  time  his  friends  feared  he  would  lose  his 
reason.  His  physician  advised  a  trip  abroad.  He 
traveled  all  through  Europe  and  parts  of  Asia  dur- 
ing the  next  two  years,  then  returned  home.  He 
was  an  expert  chemist  and  mineralogist,  and,  soon 
after  his  return  to  his  native  city  was  employed 
by  a  rich  mining  syndicate  to  inspect  the  mining 
regions  of  Colorado,  Utah  and  Nevada.  He  was 
at  this  time  inspecting  the  resources  of  the  min- 
eral belt  which  lay  in  the  mountains  west  of  the 
camp. 

On  his  way  to  Camp  Floyd,  he  stopped  a  short 
time  at  the  Garden  City,  and  boarded  with  the 
Allison  family.  They  were  truly  devoted  Saints, 
with  enough  liberality  however  to  treat  even  a 
non- Mormon  (who  are  termed  Gentiles)  with  due 
respect  and  courtesy,  even  if  it  displeased  the 
leaders  of  the  church  to  some  extent.  They  were 
above  the  average  Mormon,  intellectually  and 
morally;  but  followed  the  instructions  of  the 
church  authorities  in  most  things,  both  spiritual 
and  temporal,  with  a  blind,  fanatic  faith. 

The  pride  of  the  household  were  the  two  chil- 
dren— Lola,  a  little  girl  of  six,  and  Willy,  a  baby 
of  three.  Near  the  Allison  home  lived  Sylvester 
Waltham  and  his  wife  and  their  only  child, 
Adrian,  a  son  ten  years  of  age.  This  family  were 
devoted  Saints,  as  were  the  Allisons,  but  each 
was  opposed  to  the  practice  of  polygamy.  This 
opposition  was  the  primary  cause  of  many  trials 
and  hardships,  which  they  afterward  endured. 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  1 7 

These  people  were  all  so  kind  to  Mr.  Stanton 
that  he  became  their  true  friend,  and  often  en- 
deavored, in  his  kind  and  gentlemanly  way,  to 
show  them  the  error  of  their  faith. 

When  business  called  him  to  the  Garden  City> 
ever  after  this  first  visit,  he  made  his  home  with 
the  Allison  family,  and  soon  became  very  much 
attached  to  the  Allison  children  and  their  young 
friend,  Adrian  Waltham.  Adrian  Waltham  and 
Lola  Allison  were  constant  playmates.  Lola  was 
a  pretty  little  girl,  with  golden  hair,  bright  blue 
eyes,  and  a  faultless  complexion.  Adrian  was  a 
well-formed  boy,  having  dark  brown  eyes,  dark 
hair,  and  a  noble,  intelligent  face. 

Mr.  Stanton  noted  their  play,  how  kind  and 
gentle  they  were  to  each  other,  and  the  attach- 
ment of  pure  friendship  which  existed  between 
the  two.  He  often  admired  the  beautiful  picture 
presented  by  the  children  walking  hand  in  hand 
under  the  blooming  boughs  of  the  fragrant  locust. 

"Mrs.  Allison,  '*  said  Mr.  Stanton  one  day  as  the 
children  were  playing  on  the  lawn,  "it  seems  to 
me  that  Adrian  and  Lola  were  designed  by  nature 
to  be  companions  for  life.  "     . 

She  glanced  fondly  at  the  children  as  she  said, 
"I  have  never  thought  of  that;  but  we  certainly 
think  Adrian  a  noble  little  fellow." 

Mr.  Stanton  noted  many  other  things  while 
stopping  at  this  place.  He  met  many  officers  and 
members  of  the  church,  and  observed  that  these 
churchmen  were  forever  exacting  money  as  tith- 


l8  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ings  from  these  people  for  the  church ;  and,  being  a 
man  of  keen  perceptions,  he  discovered  that  this 
money,  in  many  instances,  never  reached  the  till 
of  the  church;  but,  on  the  contrary,  found  its 
way  into  private  purses.  He  further  observed 
the  fact  that  these  dignitaries  were  constantly 
advising  Messrs.  Allison  and  Waltham  to  go  into 
polygamy.  Their  chief  argument  used  was,  "You 
are  well  fixed  and  can  afford  it,  therefore  you 
ought  to  obey  the  will  of  God. "  The  men  stoutly 
refused  to  enter  the  relation;  but  the  stronger 
they  refused,  the  oftener  the  bishops  demanded 
cash. 

One  of  the  principal  bishops  to  give  this  advice 
and  make  these  collections  was  Bishop  Myron 
Blatherskite.  This  model  bishop  boasted  that  he 
had  a  dozen  wives  and  seventy-eight  children, 
living  under  one  great  roof,  adding,  with  pride, 
"I  have  the  most  charming  harem  in  all  the 
church  diggins. " 

Bishop  Blatherskite  was  a  very  heavy  set  indi- 
vidual; large  in  the  middle, — almost  as  wide  and 
thick  as  he  was  long.  He  had  a  round,  fat. 
greasy  face.  He  never  shaved,  but  allowed  his 
beard  to  grow  natural,  sometimes  attaining  the 
length  of  an  inch  on  the  face,  and  growing  in 
irregular  patches — growing  more  luxuriantly, 
however,  from  the  point  of  the  chin  to  the  collar. 
He  carried  a  snuff  box,  and,  on  all  occasions, 
would  take  a  pinch  of  snuff  up  each  large  nostril, 
keeping   them  -constantly   grimy.       He  wore  a 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  19 

broad-rimmed  hat,  with  grease  showing  through 
the  band,  a  short  sack  coat,  loose  fitting  pants 
much  bagged  at  the  knees,  and  his  shirt  and  vest 
being  always  crushed  and  untidy. 

He  went  about  his  arduous  duties  in  a  one  horse 
cart,  his  hat  tied  under  the  chin  with  dainty 
black  ribbons.  He  imagined  himself  a  politico- 
ecclesiastic  authority.  Besides,  being  a  bishop 
all  the  time,  he  had  filled  the  position  of  town 
alderman,  and  was  now  county  selectman.  He 
advocated  strict  economy  in  all  things  except 
tithings  to  the  church  and  his  favorite  wife's 
wardrobe. 

In  his  sermons,  as  well  as  his  street  talk,  he 
said — "There  should  be  the  strictest  economy  in 
all  things  except  the  salaries  of  church  officers. 
The  city,  county,  territory  and  nation,  through 
their  officers,  should  accept  all  kinds  of  farm  prod- 
ucts in  payment  of  taxes,  such  as  pumpkins, 
squashes,  wheat,  lucern,  cow  hides,  pigs  and 
poultry,  in  order  to  help  the  farmer  out." 

His  legal  wife,  Rhoda,  was  a  good,  honest, 
modest  woman  who  had  always  been  opposed  to 
the  plurality.  She  had  married  him  in  obedience 
to  the  wishes  of  her  parents,  and  on  the  solemn 
promise  that  he  would  never  enter  into  that  rela- 
tion ;  but  he  had  broken  this  vow  on  eleven  dif- 
ferent occasions,  each  time  renewing  the  promise, 
by  saying,  "My  dear  Rhoda,  this  shall  be  the 
last." 

The  twelfth  wife  was  a  terror,  and  ruled  su- 


20  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

premely  over  the  harem.  Her  name  was  Zina, 
and  the  bishop  greatly  admired  her  gaudy  taste, 
her  bold,  overbearing  and  domineering  disposi- 
tion, and  entitled  her,  Zina,  "The  Divine." 

Zina  was  thought  to  be  a  charming  woman  by 
many  of  her  friends.  She  had  a  very  prett}-  com- 
plexion, and  an  abundance  of  dark,  glossy  hair, 
and  piercing  black  eyes;  but  her  features  and 
general  bearings  truly  indicated  her  character — 
sensuality.  She  kept  the  whole  family  of  ninety- 
one  souls  in  constant  turmoil..  She  had  learned 
that  she  was  quite  a  favorite  with  the  hierarchy, 
because  of  her  smart  sayings  in  favor  of  polygamy 
and  against  monogamy.  She  was  very  much  in 
evidence  on  all  occasions  and  declared  frequently, 
'*I  can  get  up  more  beneficiary  balls  in  the  ward 
meeting  houses,  to  raise  money  for  our  dear  mis- 
sionaries, than  any  other  member  of  the  church ; 
and  I  can,  also,  dance  longer  and  oftener  than 
any  of  the  women  or  girls,  which  is  acknowledged 
by  everybody,  to  be  the  greatest  accomplish- 
ment a  lady  can  have." 

When  Vernon  Stanton  first  saw  a  crowd  of  peo- 
ple dancing  in  a  house  which  they  claimed  was 
dedicated  as  a  house  of  worship,  he  was  shocked 
beyond  expression.  How  men  could  conduct 
themselves  thus  in  a  house  of  worship,  and  blas- 
pheme the  name  of  God  in  every  conceivable  way, 
yet  claim  that  they  had  the  only  religion,  was  a 
puzzling  question  to  a  man  of  his  high  sensibil- 
ities and  moral  worth.       He  had  heard  many  of 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  21 

the  church  dignitaries,  both  men  and  women,  take 
the  name  of  God  in  vain,  with  as  much  zest  as  if 
they  were  the  roughest  "cow-boy. "  He  had  fur- 
ther learned,  on  good  authority,  that  Zina  Blath- 
erskite and  many  other  leading  female  Saints, 
believed  in  and  practiced  the  plurality  of  hus- 
bands, yet  boasted  of  virtue.  He  had  heard  many 
of  them  say,  "The  only  hell  in  the  future  life  will 
be  for  those  who  commit  the  unpardonable  sin 
(apostatizing  from  the  Mormon  church),  and  that 
hell  will  be  a  total  incapacity  to  satisfy  the  sen- 
sual desires!"  These,  with  many  other  circum- 
stances, bordering  on  the  same  lines,  caused  him 
to  make  the  strong  expression,  at  Camp  Floyd, 
on  the  date  mentioned. 


CHAPTER  11. 

Some  time  later,  while  yet  pursuing  his  labors 
in  Utah,  Mr.  Stanton  was  requested,  by  a  New 
York  publishing  company,  to  write  a  series  of 
articles  on  Utah,  its  people,  their  customs,  and 
religion.  He  complied,  and  the  letters  appear- 
ing in  this  and  the  subsequent  chapter  are  taken 
from  the  series  contributed,  which  are  applicable 
down  to  the  present  time. 

Camp  Floyd,  Utah,   September  lo,   i860. 
To ,  Editor  New  York . 

As  explained  in  a  former  communication,  Utah 
was  settled  by  the  Mormons,  or,  as  they  entitle 
themselves,  "the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter 
Day  Saints. ' '  The  church  was  founded  by  J(5seph 
Smith.  The  Saints  look  upon  him  as  having  been 
the  greatest  prophet  who  ever  lived.  They  be- 
lieve him,  and  his  mission  in  the  world,  to  have 
been  divine — little,  if  any,  below  that  of  Christ; 
yet,  he  was  one  of  the  vilest  impostors  who  ever 
disgraced  the  world,  a  fanatic  and  a  profligate. 
He  posed  as  a  superior  being,  and  his  followers 
verily  believe  such  to  have  been  the  case.  He 
said  of  himself,  ' '  I  am  learned  and  know  more  than 
all  the  world  put  together."*  This  ridiculous 
expression  demonstrates  plainly  his  lack  of 
intellect  and  his  egotistical  disposition. 

The  book  of  Mormon  he  claimed  to  have  trans- 
lated from  brass  plates  which  were  delivered  to 
him  by  a  personage,  whom  he  termed  the  "Angel 
Maroni;"  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  written 

*6  Jour,  of  Disc,  5. 

22 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  23 

as  an  historical  romance,  by  one  Solomon  Spauld- 
ing,  the  manuscript  afterward  falling  into  the 
hands  of  Sidney  Rigdon,  an  unscrupulous,  but 
educated  bigot  who  gave  the  same  to  Joseph. 

Smith's  whole  life  was  one  continual  violation 
of  state,  moral  and  divine  laws,  as  all  true  history 
records.  His  followers  delight  to  speak  of  him  as 
having  once  been  a  candidate  for  the  presidency 
of  the  United  States.  If  such  was  the  case,  his- 
tory has  failed  to  record  it.  His  picture,  dressed 
in  Napoleon  tights,  claw-hammer  coat,  uniformed 
as  a  general,  sword  raised  high  in  hand  and  point- 
ing heavenward,  entitled,  "Lieutenant-General 
Joseph  Smith  Silencing  the  Mob,"  adorns  the 
home  of  all  good  Latter  Day  Saints. 

He  was  general  of  the  Nauvoo  legion,  mayor 
of  the  city,  president,  prophet,  seer  and  revelator 
of  the  church,  and  at  the  head  of  all  business 
organizations  of  the  Saints  at  the  same  time.  He 
affected  to  believe  that  he  was  destined  to  rule 
the  United  States,  and,  perhaps,  the  world;  and 
his  followers  still  maintain  that  their  power  to 
rule  will  yet  extend  round  the  globe  and  they 
bind  their  adherents,  by  the  most  solemn  vows,  to 
work  to  this  end. 

They  teach  that  Adam  is  the  God  of  the  people 
of  this  world,  and  that  God  and  Christ  were  and 
are  polygamists.  They  teach  that  exaltation  in 
heaven  is  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  wives 
and  children  they  have  in  this  life. 

They  believe  in  the  pre-existence  of  the  soul,  in 
marriage  for  time  and  eternity,  and,  also,  in  be- 
ing sealed  to  the  dead.  Through  this  system, 
neither  man  nor  woman  is  free  from  being  sealed 
to  some  Saint  for  eternity ;  how  revolting  is  the 
thought  that  the  Empress  Josephine,  the  beloved 
Martha  Washington,  or  some  member  of  our  own 


24  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

household  might  be  sealed  to  some  good  Saint  to 
be  his  wives  for  eternity. 

They  believe  in  baptism  for  the  dead,  and,  by 
this  means  can  bring  many  souls  even  after  death 
into  their  church.  They  claim  to  have  been  bap- 
tised for  all  the  famous  men  and  women  of  this 
or  any  other  country,  who  have  passed  into 
eternity,  and  that  they  are  now  workers  and 
believers  in  their  faith. 

They  believe  in  a  continuous  revelation  from 
on  high,  coming  through  the  leaders  of  their 
church,  the  president  being  the  chief  prophet,  seer 
and  revelator.  It  matters  not  what  subject  he 
may  have  a  revelation  about,  whether  it  be  of  the 
silliest  nature  or  otherwise,  the  Saints  grab  at  it 
and  know  it  is  true  at  once ;  neither  does  it  matter 
how  much  the  new  one  contradicts  a  former,  still 
the  dignitaries  have  sufficient  grasp  on  the  breth- 
ren to  make  them  accept  it  and  say,  "It  is  exactly 
in  harmony  with  every  thing  that  has  gone  be- 
fore." Any  member  of  the  priesthood  is  liable  to 
have  a  revelation,  at  any  moment ;  but  those  of 
the  head  leaders  are  all  that  is  followed  to  any 
great  extent.  Everything,  both  spiritual  and 
temporal,  is  controlled  by  these  revelations. 

I  know  of  an  instance,  when  the  dignitaries  of 
the  church  held  an  important  meeting  in  refer- 
ence to  matters  of  the  church,  and  before  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  all  of  them  were  drunk  except 
the  man  who  carried  the  whisky.  A  revelation 
claimed  to  have  been  received  by  one  of  these 
drunkards,  while  in  this  condition,  would  have 
been  believed  and  followed  by  the  faithful  to  the 
minutest  detail,  and  each  of  them  would  not  only 
have  believed  it,  but  would  have  said  they  knew 
it  was  true. 

Poor  and  benighted,  indeed,  is  he  who,  if  he  be 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  2$ 

a  just  man,  believes  that  some  other  man  stands 
closer  to  the  living  God  than  himself.  This  belief 
has  been  the  cause  of  more  misery  to  the  human 
family  than  all  things  else.  God  is  a  true,  a  just, 
a  merciful,  and  an  all-wise  being;  infinite  in  wis- 
dom, in  love,  and  all  things  good,  and  wholly  im- 
partial. Narrow  and  cramped  must  be  the  mind 
of  him  who  believes  that  God  is  a  respecter  of 
persons.  "There  is  one  God,  and  one  mediator 
between  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus; 
who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified 
in  due  time."  The  sunlight,  the  air,  the  earth, 
and  all  the  laws  of  nature,  repel  the  idea  that  He 
is  in  any  degree  partial. 

The  hierarchy  of  the  church  is  composed  of  the 
president  and  two  counselors  who  constitute  the 
first  presidency ;  next  the  patriarch,  the  twelve 
apostles,  presidents  of  seventies,  presidents  of 
stakes,  bishops,  ward  teachers,  block  teachers, 
elders  and  deacons  and  their  respective  counsel- 
ors. These  various  officers  together  with  their 
counselors  constitute  the  holy  priesthood.  They 
have  the  whole  world  divided  into  districts,  which 
they  call  stakes  of  Zion,  Salt  Lake  county  being 
the  center  stake ;  each  officer  having  his  respective 
sphere  and  jurisdiction  in  these  variotis  stakes 
and  wards;  and  those  above  presidents  of  sev- 
enties have  general  jurisdiction  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  church  powers,  which  finally 
becomes  absolute  in  the  prophet,  seer  and  revel- 
ator. 

I  will  discuss  the  customs  and  general  charac- 
teristics of  the  people  more  in  detail  in  my  next. 
Respectfully,  Vernon  Stanton. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  October  15,  i860. 
To ,  Editor  New  York . 

Since  contributing  my  last  article  I  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  learning  more  of  the  customs 
of  the  people  of  Utah. 

There  are  many  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints  who 
are  generous,  honest  and  liberal,  if  their  ecclesi- 
astical masters  would  allow  them  to  be  so.  The 
better  element  seems  not  to  have  that  invisible, 
unbreakable  chain  attached  to  a  ring  in  their 
noses;  but  the  great  majority  are  so  obedient  that 
the  leaders  have  only  to  say  "kneel, "  and  they 
kneel — "bob  up  serenely,"  and  they  bob.  This 
better  element  would  like  to  act  free  in  all  mat- 
ters; but  the  stream  cannot  rise  higher  than  its 
source — the  priesthood.  Occasionally  a  member 
attempts  to  rise  far  above  this  source  but  the  in- 
visible power  of  the  priesthood  forces  him  back 
to  his  cringing,  fawning  serfdom  or  undermines 
him  and  wrecks  him  financially. 

According  to  the  established  doctrines,  coming 
down  from  the  days  of  the  Prophet  Joseph,  it  is 
right  to  lie  to  a  Gentile,  if,  by  so  doing,  the 
church  is  benefited  by  gaining  converts,  or  by 
shielding  its  members  from  criminal  prosecu- 
tions. Upon  this  point  the  Prophet  said,  when 
speaking  of  those  Saints  who  were  charged  with 
horse  stealing  and  othe  like  crimes  at  Nauvoo, 
Illinois,  **At  this  time  the  truth  on  the  guilty 
should  not  be  told  openly;  strange  as  this  may 
seem,  yet  this  is  policy."* 

*i9  Mil.  Star,  454. 

26 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  27 

Heber  C.  Kimble,  first  counselor  to  the  Prophet 
Brigham,  also  spoke  on  this  subject  recently  in 
his  instructions  to  the  missionaries: — 

**It  is  no  matter  what  way  you  convert  them,  so 
that  you  convert  them  to  believe  the  doctrines  of 
the  very  Bible  they  have  always  professed  to 
believe."* 

Under  such  instructions  the  missionaries  go 
into  the  states  and  foreign  lands,  convert  poor 
unfortunates,  and  bring  them  to  Zion.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  these  converts  are  a  poor,  ignorant 
class.  It  is  impossible  for  them  to  make  a  living 
without  the  aid  of  the  Brethren,  and,  being 
unable  to  return  to  their  native  land,  finally  grow 
into  the  faith.  Many  who  have  been  raised  in  the 
church  and  have  never  known  any  other  faith, 
are  to  be  pitied  rather  than  scorned.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  them  to  see  the  actual  conditions  of  the 
present,  or  to  know  the  actual  circumstances  sur- 
rounding the  early  history  of  the  church,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  they  have  been  taught  from 
their  earliest  infancy,  that  all  was  of  the  purest 
nature  and  revealed  from  on  High.  They  cannot 
see  the  infamy  of  its  founders,  the  long  train  of 
crimes  committed  by  its  members,  and  sanctioned 
by  the  leaders,  while  iu  the  secret  chambers  as  a 
priesthood,  thereby  making  the  church  organiza- 
tion absolutely  responsible  for  their  crimes.  The 
members  are  as  devoted  to  their  worship  as  it  is 
possible  for  men  to  be.  There  is  no  argument 
nor  reasoning  that  can  get  them  away  from  it. 
They  attend  their  places  of  worship  as  regularly  as 
clock-work;  and  the  quarterly  stake  conferences 
find  a  multitude  from  all  over  the  county  at  the 
seat  where  the  conference  is  held;  while  the 
general  conference,  held  at  Zion,  is  the  occasion 

♦23  Mil.  Star,  297. 


28  THE    FALSE    STAR, 

for  tens  of  thousands  of  the  Saints  of  every 
grade,  to  meet  ^nd  show  their  unbounded  faith 
in  the  teachings  of  Joseph.  Every thin<(  pertain- 
ing to  the  church,  even  the  selection  of  its  offi- 
cers, is  first  prepared  by  the  officers  at  the  head, 
then  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  general  con- 
ferences for  their  ratification  by  vote ;  but  woe 
unto  the  member  who  is  so  derelict  in  his  or  her 
duty  as  to  vote  contrary  to  the  prepared  will  of 
the  dignitaries,  which  they  claim  as  having  been 
prepared  by  revelation.  This  farce  is  next  car- 
ried to  the  stake  conference,  thence  to  the  wards 
where  the  same  proceedings  are  rehashed ;  but  in 
every  instance  the  vote  must  be  unanimous,  or 
the  recalcitrant  member  will  be  disciplined. 

The  average  moss-back  seldom,  if  ever,  goes  to 
the  front  door  of  either  his  own  or  his  neighbor's 
domicile  for  any  purpose ;  but  almost  invariably 
he  sneaks  to  the  back  door  (in  fact  they  delight 
in  sneaking  about  everything).  The  front  yard 
to  their  homes  is  usually  utilized  as  a  vegetable 
garden,  instead  of  a  lawn  and  flowers.  The  full- 
fledged  serfs,  or  those  who  do  the  bidding  of  the 
annointed,  without  a  murmur,  go  along  the 
streets  with  their  heads  down,  seldom  raising 
their  eyes  from  the  ground  or  *  'sidewalks, ' '  as  they 
call  the  mud  in  winter  and  dust  in  summer. 

Dancing  is  their  chief  amusement.  To  be  able 
to  dance  well  is  the  greatest  accomplishment, 
according  to  their  way  of  thinking,  that  a  human 
being  can  have.  They  all  dance  from  the  time 
they  are  six  years  of  age.  Four  generations  will 
sometimes  appear  on  the  floor  at  the  same  time. 
One  of  the  chief  places  for  holding  their  balls  is 
at  the  various  ward  meeting-houses;  especially  is 
this  the  case  when  the  dance  is  given  as  a  benefi- 
ciary to  raise  funds  for  a  man  who  is  just  starting 
on  a  mission. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  29 

The  leaders  band  themselves  together  for  the 
purpose  of  controlling  all  kinds  of  business 
throughout  the  Territory.  The  mercantile  part 
of  the  business  runs  under  a  co-operative  plan ; 
each  town  or  city  has  a  co-operative  institution, 
owned  and  conducted  under  the  supervision  of 
the  leaders,  according  to  revelation. 

The  chief  store  is  located  at  Zion,  and  is  called 
'*Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institution.  "  All 
of  the  places,  owned  by  these  leaders  to  fleece 
the  brethren,  have  a  sign  above  the  door,  which 
consists  of  the  name  of  the  institution,  the  All- 
seeing  Eye,  and  the  words  "Holiness  to  the 
Lord."  These  several  places  of  business  and  the 
various  tithing  offices  located  in  each  stake  are 
permitted  to  do  an  act  of  sovereignty,  by  issuing  a 
circulating  medium,  entitled  '  'script, "  which  they 
force  the  brethren  to  accept  as  pay  for  their  prod- 
uce and  labor.  If  a  good  brother  should  chance 
to  need  a  little  U.  S.  money  he  can  obtain  it  from 
these  leaders  by  discounting  his  "script"  twenty 
per  cent.  Under  this  management  of  affairs  the 
dignitaries  become  very  wealthy,  and  the  masses 
very  poor.  Should  you  ask,  "Why  does  this  con- 
dition exist"  the  answer  is,  "The  Lord  blesses  his 
servants. ' ' 

The  polygamists  keep  harems,  chief  among 
them  is  that  of  Brigham  Young's.  This  harem 
consists  of  a  large  stone  building  resembling  an 
old-fashioned,  square  hotel.  This  house  is  called 
the  '  *Bee  Hive, ' '  and  is  designated  by  a  dome,  rep- 
resenting a  large  bee  hive.  It  is  located  at  the 
southeast  comer  of  the  first  square  east  of  Tem- 
ple Block,  at  the  city  of  Zion.  Next  to  it,  with  a 
small  space  between,  is  the  Lion  House ;  so  named 
because  a  large  stone  lion  stands,  as  a  sentinel, 
at  the  front  entrance.     The  next  building  to  the 


30  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

west,  on  this  block,  is  the  school  house  where  his 
children  are  educated.  Next  to  the  school  house, 
on  the  corner  west,  is  the  office  of  the  prophet. 
On  this  block  is  located  everything  pertaining  to 
the  domestic  life  of  the  governor,  president, 
prophet,  seer,  and  revelator.  Except  two  or 
three  favorite  wives  and  their  children,  all  of  his 
wives,  with  their  children,  live  in  these  houses. 
A  stone  wall,  built  of  cobble  rock  and  mortar, 
about  eight  feet  high,  with  regular  columns,  sur- 
rounds this  square  on  which  stands  the  mighty- 
harem. 

It  is  the  custom  in  this  harem  to  have  the  morn- 
ing and  noon  meals  served  in  each  separate 
apartment  to  each  wife  and  her  children.  The 
evening  meal  is  served  in  a  large  dining-room 
where  all  the  wives,  children,  and  visitors,  if  any, 
assemble  together  with  the  prophet.  After  the 
meal  is  over  the)''  all  repair  to  a  large  family  room 
where  a  social  is  held.  Frequently,  after  the 
evening  meal,  the  dining-room  is  cleared,  and 
apostles  and  other  dignitaries  come  in,  and  they 
all  indulge  in  a  merry  dance  until  a  late  hour. 
All  the  wives  must  make  their  appearance  at  this 
evening  meal  and  the  socials,  and  remain  until 
dismissed,  unless  they  have  permission  from  their 
master  to  retire  or  remain  away. 

Respectfully, 

Vernon  Stanton, 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Vernon  Stanton  left  Utah  a  short  time  after 
Johnston's  army  left  for  the  -south,  after  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  and  went  back  to 
the  state  whence  he  came.  After  remaining  a 
short  time  at  Rochester  he  went  to  New  York 
City  on  a  business  trip;  then  recrossed  the 
plains,  going  immediately  to  Virginia  City, 
Nevada,  at  which  place  he  arrived  in  the  spring 
of  1862.  He  saw  and  took  part  in  the  great  min- 
ing operations  of  that  Silver  region,  where  men 
became  rich  in  a  day,  and  millionaires  in  a  week. 
He  resigned  his  position  with  the  eastern  syndi- 
cate in  1866  and  went  to  the  city  of  Zion,  where 
he  took  up  a  permanent  residence  shortly  after- 
ward. 

His  great  influence  was  ever  found  on  the  side 
of  right.  ' '  Honesty  and  Virtue"  being  his  motto, 
his  deportment  soon  won  the  respect  even  of  the 
Saints,  although  they  very  much  disliked  his 
strong  opposition  to  the  plurality,  as  well  as  their 
other  evil  practices.  He  made  a  visit  to  the  Gar- 
den City  in  the  fall  of  1868,  and  again  stopped 
with  the  Allisons  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  sev- 
eral years.  Having  a  great  deal  of  business  to 
attend  to,  his  stay  was  prolonged  here  for  nearly 
a  month. 

The  sweet  little  Lola,  whom  he  used  to  take 
31 


32  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Upon  his  knee,  had  now  grown  to^  be  a  miss  of 
fifteen,  and  Adrian  had  grown  to  be  a  young  man 
of  nineteen.  They  were  delighted  to  see  him, 
and  told  of  the  many  happy  days  they  had  spent 
together  since  .they  had  seen  him  last,  and  of  the 
many  pleasant  trips  that  they  and  their  parents 
had  taken  together.  They  told  him  that  they  had 
been  to  conference  at  Zion  twice,  and  had  made 
one  trip  to  be  baptized  for  friends  who  had  de- 
-parted  this  life  in  an  unsaved  condition.  They 
explained  that  Lola  had  been  baptized  for  six, 
and  Adrian  for  ten,  and  that  they  were  going 
again  in  a  year  or  two  4o  do  more  Temple  work 
for  other  friends  and  relatives  who  had  died 
unsaved. 

They  told  him  of  many  trips  up  the  various 
canons,  on  pleasure  excursions,  and  that  on  two 
of  these  occasions  they  had  visited  the  great  hot- 
pots. Their  description  of  the  hot-pots  inter- 
ested Mr.  Stanton  greatly,  as  he  had  long  desired 
to  visit  these  wonderful  freaks  of  nature. 

They  told  him  of  their  many  walks  together 
down  the  long  streets,  as  they  had  done  when  he 
accompanied  them,  and  how  they  had  talked  of 
him  as  they  strolled  under  the  old  locust  boughs, 
and  breathed  the  sweet  perfume  from  the  bloom- 
ing branches  above;  or,  if,  perchance,  their  stroll 
was  along  the  stately  poplar  rows,  as  they  watched 
the  wavering  of  their  shadows  in  the  beautiful 
moonlight,  their  conversation  would  involuntarily 
turn  on  him  who  had  ever  improved  each  oppor- 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  33 

t unity  to  impress  upon  all  around  him  the  neces- 
sity of  pure  thoughts,  chaste  actions  and  noble 
deeds. 

How  it  thrilled  the  soul  of  Mr.  Stanton  to  hear 
these  stories  and  to  know  that  the  seed  he  had 
sown  was  producing  good  fruit.  He  thought  that 
the  time  would  soon  come  when  they  would  begin 
to  associate  together  as  lovers  instead  of  mere 
friends,  or  as  brother  and  sister. 

Mr.  Stanton  next  learned  many  things  con- 
nected with  the  lives  of  the  elder  Allisons  and 
Walthams,  and  their  experiences  with  the  digni- 
taries while  he  was  away ;  and  how  much  they 
had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  priesthood, 
because  of  their  opposition  to  polygamy,  and  of 
their  refusing  to  go  into  its  practice;  how  they 
had  been  robbed  under  the  guise  of  "tithing" 
for  the  church;  plotted  against,  and  at  times 
their  lives  made  a  burden  because  of  their  up- 
right sentiments  in  this  regard;  how  they  had 
striven,  in  both  families,  to  keep  their  troubles 
from  Adrian  and  Lola,  but  alas!  they,  too,  were 
reaching  the  period  in  life  when  they  must  soon 
begin  to  drink  the  bitter  cup  and  feel  the  sting- 
ing thorn  of  priesthood  oppression.  Already  they 
had  been  forced,  by  surrounding  conditions  and 
circumstances,  which  they  could  not  avoid,  to 
share  some  of  the  griefs  heaped  upon  their  par- 
ents; but,  blinded  by  a  faith  which  knew  no 
wavering  to  most  things  connected  with  the 
teachings  of  the  church,  all  bowed  to  the  inevi- 


34  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

table,  and  bore  their  sufferings  with  Christian  for- 
titude. 

During  this  visit  to  this  Garden  City,  Mr.  Stan- 
ton formed  the  acquaintance  of  John  Boden- 
heimer,  president  of  Utah  stake  of  Zion,  and  also 
of  Francis  Lehman,  bishop  of  one  of  the  wards  of 
Provo.  His  first  meeting  with  these  men  was  at 
the  house  of  the  Allisons. 

Vernon  Stanton  was  in  the  library.  President 
Bodenheimer  and  Bishop  Lehman  were  across  the 
hall,  directly  opposite,  when  Lola  passed  through 
the  hall  between.  He  heard  the  two  in  close 
conversation  and  overheard  Lehman  say: — 
*-  "O!  what  a  voluptuous  sixth  Lola  would  make! 
A  revelation  to  that  effect  would  indeed  be  heav- 
enly— yes,  heavenly." 

Vernon  Stanton's  blood  ran  cold  as  he  heard 
these  words,  and  he  said  to  himself, 
■  **^Can  it  be  possible  that  this  old  demon  is  look- 
ing with  lustful  eyes  upon  that  innocent  girl, 
while  he  already  has  five  wives?" 
'  He  did  not  catch  the  answer  of  the  president, 
but  noted  his  nods  and  suggestive  smiles. 

The '  infamous  rertiark  rang  in  his  ears  all  the 
rest  of  the  evening.  When  he  came  to  the  supper 
table  he  could  scarcely  eat  for  thinking  of  her, 
liow  innocent  and  happy  she  appeared,  and  yet 
what  possibly  might  be  in  store  for  her.  The 
very  thought  of  her  being  a  plural  wife,  an  har- 
lot to  the  lusts  of  any  base  fiend  filled  his  soul 
with  the  deepest  horror,  to  say  nothing  of  the 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  35 

cruel  wrong  which  he  felt  would  be  heaped  upon 
Adrian,  as  well  as  both  families.  The  remark 
gave  him  much  uneasiness;  still  he  could  not 
believe  that  such  a  thing  was  seriously,  or  even 
lightly,  lurking  in  the  bishop's  mind,  therefore, 
he  took  it  as  a  light  remark  and  let  it  pass. 

It  had  been  decided  by  the  leaders  that  John 
Westmeland  and  Martin  Bodenheimer,  two  young 
men,  were  to  start  at  an  early  date  on  a  three 
years'  mission  to  England. 

Young  Westmeland  had  but  very  little  means, 
and  it  had  been  determined  to  give  a  beneficiary 
dance  in  his  behalf.  This  matter  was  turned  over 
to  Zina  Blatherskite  to  complete  arrangements, 
with  power  to  act,  in  appointing  the  various  com- 
mittees, and  making  all  other  necessary  provis- 
ions. She  had  decided  to  have  the  ball  at  the 
third  ward  meeting  house,  which  was  an  adobe 
structure,  about  one  hundred  feet  long  by  forty 
in  width,  with  a  room  at  the  rear  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  priesthood  when  holding  services. 
All  the  arrangements  were  now  complete  and  it 
was  to  be  a  grand  affair. 

It  had  long  since  been  contemplated  by  Adrian 
that  the  time  would  come  when  he  should  cease 
to  accompany  Lola  with  the  understanding  that 
they  were  simply  friends,  or  brother  and  sister, 
but  that  he  should  escort  her  as  a  lover,  with  the 
same  being  thoroughly  understood  between  them. 
He  had  studied  over  the  matter  many  times  as  to 
the  best  possible  way  of  approaching  her  on  the 


36  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

subject,  yet  giving  her  perfect  freedom  of  action. 
He  finally  decided  to  send  her  a  note. 

He  had  never  before  written  a  letter  to  a  young 
lady ;  in  fact  he  had  never  gone  with  any  girl  but 
Lola,  and  he  had  never  mentioned  a  word  of  love 
to  her,  but  had  shown  her  the  greatest  respect  as 
a  brother.  So  he  wrote  the  note  and  summoned 
a  messenger  to  take  it  to  her  at  once.  It  reached 
her  a  few  moments  later,  when  the  messenger 
said: — 

"I  will  wait  a  few  moments,  Miss  Lola,  to 
receive  the  answer. ' ' 

Her  whole  frame  was  shocked  as  never  before. 

**What  can  it  mean?  A  note  from  Adrian," 
— as  she  knew  his  handwriting. 

**Be  seated,"  she  said  to  the  young  messenger, 
and  immediately  went  to  her  room,  broke  the  seal 
and  began  to  read.  How  her  young  heart  beat 
for  joy  as  she  read  the  contents  as  follows: — 

Provo  City,  Utah,  Nov.  i,  i868. 
Miss  Lola  Allison, 

City: 

My  Dear  Friend : — You  will  please  pardon  this 
formal  note  on  this  occasion,  but  there  is  a  mat- 
ter of  much  consequence  to  me,  which  has  been 
upon  my  mind  for  a  long  time.  I  desire  that  you 
know  the  full  purport  of  it  at  this  time. 

We  have  long  associated  together  as  the  best 
of  friends;  in  fact  our  whole  lives  have  been 
as  if  we  had  lived  under  the  same  roof  and  born 
of  the  same  parents. 

With  all  of  this  I  have  ever  deemed  it  wholly 
improper  until  we  arrived  at  a  suitable  age,  to 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  37 

mention  the  subject  of  love  to  you,  although  the 
temptation  has  been  very  great  many,  many 
times.  I  feel  that  my  first  expressions  upon  this 
subject  to  you  should  be  in  a  way  and  manner 
that  you  would  not  feel  the  least  embarrassment 
in  your  answer  to  me  upon  this  very  important 
subject.  I,  therefore,  address  you  at  this  time 
and  in  this  way. 

If  it  is  agreeable  to  you  I  should  be  pleased  to 
accompany  you  in  the  future  as  a  lover;  and,  as 
such,  I  asic  the  supreme  pleasure  of  accompany- 
ing you  to  the  party  this  evening,  to  be  given  in 
honor  and  for  the  benefit  of  our  worthy  mission- 
aries who  depart  at  an  early  date. 

You  are,  no  doubt,  aware  of  the  fact  that  it 
will  be  given  at  the  third  ward  meeting-house. 
Awaiting  an  early  reply,  I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Adrian  Waltham. 

Oft  had  she  hoped  that  this  change  would  come 
some  time,  and  that  she  could  hear  the  sweet 
words  of  love  fall  from  his  pure  lips.  How  the 
change  was  to  come  she  could  not  devise ;  but  oh ! 
how  dreadful  the  thought,  which  she  sometimes 
entertained,  that  he  might  never  look  on  her  as 
anything  but  a  true  friend ;  and  when  he  came  to 
the  days  of  love  his  heart  might  turn  to  another; 
and,  as  she  would  allow  such  fancies  to  come  into 
her  mind,  the  tears  would  roll  down  her  pretty 
cheeks  in  rapid  succession.  Never  had  the  slight- 
est word  of  love  passed  from  his  lips  to  her,  and 
she  was  too  pure  to  lisp  a  word  to  him  on  the 
subject  until  first  approached.  As  she  read  the 
precious  words  in  the  letter  she  was  so  overcome 


38  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

with  joy  that  she  could  scarcely  contain  herself. 
Tears  came  into  her  eyes  amidst  smiles;  then 
clasping  the  message  to  her  bosom  she  danced 
around  the  room  in  joyous  glee,  repeating,  *'At 
last!     At  last!" 

Again  she  read  the  words  and  thanked  the 
Lord  for  the  contemplated  blessing.  She  forgot 
to  answer  it,  or  that  the  messenger  boy  was  in 
waiting  until  her  mother  opened  the  door  to  her 
room  and  asked :  r 

' 'Are  you  going  to  answer  the  message,  mS 
child?  The  boy  'says  he  has  been  waiting  fully 
an  hour  for  an  answer. " 

**0!  My  dear  mamma,  in  my  wild  delight  I 
forgot  that  it  required  an  answer;  and  I  presume 
that  not  being  used  to  receiving  notes  in  this  way 
has  something  to  do  with  my  neglect..  Look! 
it  is  from  Adrian,  his  first  words  of  love  to  me," 
she  said,  as  she  handed  the  note  to  her  mother. 
The  mother  took  the  message  and  hurriedly  read 
its  contents,  saying,  as  she  finished : 

"Thank  Heaven!  but  you  must  answer  it  at 
once,  dear." 

She  pressed  Lola  to  her  breast  and  kissed  her 
fondly,  then  left  the  room. 

Lola  seated  herself  at  the  table  to  answer  the 
note,  but  as  the  boy  had  been  in  waiting  already 
too  long,  she  made  her  reply  very  brief. 

"City,  ii-i,  '68. 

My  dear  Adrian: — With  all  m}^  heart  I  accept 
your  company  as  a  lover. 

Your  loving  Lola." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  39 

She  then  hurried  down  stairs  and  gave  the  tiny- 
note  to  the  messenger,  at  the  same  time  apologiz- 
ing for  keeping  him  in  waiting  so  long. 

Soon  the  messenger  was  at  the  door  of  the 
Waltham  home.  Adrian  was  restlessly  walking 
back  and  forth  across  the  library,  anxiously 
aw^aiting  his  return.  As  he  ascended  the  steps 
Adrian  met  him  at  the  door  where,  with  trem- 
bling hand,  he  received  the  answer.  It  had  been 
an  hour  of  anxious  waiting,  during  which  many- 
conjectures  as  to  what  her  answer  would  be 
passed  through  his  mind.  He  had  long  felt  that 
his  love  was  reciprocated;  yet  when  he  reached 
this  point  in  life  he  half  doubted,  and  the  thought 
seized  him  that  she  might  never  think  of  him 
only  as  a  brother,  and  he  felt  that  a  negative 
reply  to  his  earnest  request  would  crush  his  every 
hope  in  life. 

On  receiving  the  answer  he  turned  into  the 
library,  seating  himself  at  the  desk,  where  an 
hour  and  a  half  before  he  had  signed  his  name  to 
his  first  message  of  love  to  her.  He  hurriedly 
broke  the  seal,  then  scanned  the  few  short  words 
of  love,  which  told  all  that  his  fondest  hopes 
desired — that  his  love  was  fully  reciprocated. 

O!  blissful  state!  life  holds  not  in  store  for 
man  a  happier  period  than  when  he  first  realizes 
that  he  is  loved  by  the  one  who  is  the  idol  of  his 
heart,  and  surely  no  man  ever  had  happier  mo- 
ments than  were  those  to  Adrian  Waltham. 

As  soon  as  the  first  agitation  of  his  soul  had 


40  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

passed  away  he  went  to  the  sitting-room,  where 
he  found  his  mother.  He  sat  down  by  her  and 
was  silent  for  a  moment  from  excess  of  happi- 
ness; he  could  not  clearly  explain  to  her  this  new 
happiness  of  love  coming  into  his  life,  such  joy 
had  been  thus  far  unknown  to  him.  He  told  her 
something,  however,  that  filled  her  with  delight 
— that  he  loved  Lola  and  that  she  loved  him  in 
return. 

Adrian  longed  all  day  for  the  hour  to  come 
when  he  should  go,  for  the  first  time,  to  meet 
Lola  as  a  lover.  The  hours  wore  heavily  away; 
he  consulted  his  watch  many  times  during  the 
day  to  note  the  time. 

At  last  the  hour  arrived  for  him  to  prepare  for 
the  evening.  He  repaired  to  his  room,  and  with 
much  more  care  than  he  had  ever  taken  before, 
arranged  his  toilet;  as  he  reached  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  his  mother  was  standing  in  the  doorwa}^  to 
the  library.     She  said : — 

* '  I  am  very  proud  of  my  handsome  boy. ' ' 

This  was  not  a  light  remark  on  the  part  of  his 
mother,  as  he  was  everything  that  she  termed 
him.  Truly  a  handsome  young  man ;  his  every 
feature  was  that  of  intelligence ;  his  high  white 
forehead,  beneath  a  crown  of  dark  waving  hair ; 
his  large,  expressive,  brown  eyes  and  open  coun- 
tenance, coupled  with  his  dignified  bearing,  made 
him  all  that  she  had  termed  him. 

His  father  was  seated  in  the  library  reading, 
and  looked  up  as  his  mother  finished  the  remark 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  4I 

about  his  appearance.  Adrian  smiled  in  answer 
to  her  compliment,  as  he  said  — 

'*My  dear  parents,  I  shall  not  become  engaged 
to  my  love  this  evening,  as  I  consider  that  we  are 
entitled  to  some  time  for  enjoying  the  happy  days 
of  courtship,  leading  up  to  that  part  of  the  drama, 
which  I  hope  will  take  place  at  no  distant  date; 
besides,  some  critics  might  say,  at  present,  that 
we  were  a  little  young  to  enter  into  that  relation. 
I  presume  that  I  shall  not  see  either  of  you  before 
morning;  so  good  night,  dear  parents." 

He  vanished  into  the  darkness  before  either  of 
them  had  time  to  speak.  Mrs.  Waltham  turned 
to  her  husband  and  said : — 

**I  wonder  if  that  boy  thinks  that  we  can  resist 
the  temptation  of  going  to  the  party  this  even- 
ing?" 

**I  cannot  say;  his  remarks  are  evidently  based 
on  the  fact  that  we  seldom  go  to  a  ball ;  but  we 
shall  surprise  him  this  time.  We  will  get  ready 
at  once  and  join  them  at  Allison's;  then  all  go 
from  there  together." 

The  scene  at  the  Allison  place  had  been  one  of 
hurry  all  day,  getting  ready  for  the  ball.  The 
dressmaker  had  just  finished  a  beautiful  evening 
dress  for  Lola,  and  was  ftow  assisting  in  the 
arrangement  of  her  toilet.  She  combed  her  long 
waving  hair  back  from  her  pure  white  forehead, 
and  tied  it  with  delicate  blue  ribbon,  allowing  the 
natural  curls  to  hang  unconfined  below  the  waist. 

Her  dress  was  snow  white,  with  short  sleeves, 


42  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

and  low  in  the  neck,  and  trimmed  with  a  soft, 
fihiiy  lace.  Around  her  slender  waist  was  tied 
a  sash  of  the  same  tint  of  blue  as  the  ribbon  on 
her  hair.  A  delicate  gold  chain  clasping  her 
neck  and  small  gold  bands,  encircling  her  wrists 
were  all  the  jewelry  she  wore.  Her  dainty  feet 
were  encased  in  white  slippers.  After  complet- 
ing her  toilet  the  dressmaker,  standing  back  in 
order  to  get  a  good  view,  carefully  surveyed  her, 
as  she  said  :— 

"Lola,  you  are  certainly  the  most  beautiful  girl 
in  all  the  world. ' ' 

Lola  blushed  and  replied: — 

*'I  fear  you  are  growing  extravagant  in  your 
compliments,  good  woman." 

Her  mother  had  entered  the  room,  but  a  mo- 
ment before,  and  answered  her  by  saying: — 

"All   that   she   has  said  is  as  true  as   gospel 
itself." 

**I  can't  stand  much  more  on  that  score,"  said 
Lola,  and  she  left  the  room,  going  directly  to  the 
parlor.  After  reaching  the  parlor  she  seated 
herself  on  a  sofa  and  began  to  muse  thus  :— 

"O!  Is  it  mine  at  some  sweet  day  to  call  such 
a  man  as  he  husband?  All  earthly  powers  com- 
bined could  make  no  better.  He  is  the  possessor 
of  as  pure  a  heart  as  ever  beat  within  the  breast 
of  a  being;  an  intellect  as  bright  as  a  diamond 
aild  as  quick  as  the  lightning's  flash;  wholly 
without  guile  and  free  from  rancor;  a  form  on 
which  the  god  of  loveliness  and  grace  has  set  his 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  43 

seal  in  perfection" — here  came  a  ring  at  the 
door-bell.  She  walked  quickly  to  the  door,  every 
nerve  wrought  to  its  highest  tension,  opened  it, 
and  Adrian,  with  a  blush  upon  his  cheeks,  greeted 
her,  stepped  into  the  hall  and  closed  the  door; 
and  as  they  walked  arm  in  arm  into  the  parlor, 
he  took  her  soft  white  hand  in  his  and  with  a 
smile,  said: — 

*'How  is  my  darling  Lola  this  evening?" 

**0!  you  should  easily  guess  that  I  am  very, 
very  happy." 

They  then  walked  to  the  sofa  and  seating 
themselves,  Adrian  began,  saying: — 

"My  dear  Lola,  why  were  you  so  long  in  an- 
swering my  note  this  forenoon?  It  must  have 
been  hard  for  you  to  make  up  your  mind  in  this 
regard.  The  suspense  of  waiting  so  long  for  an 
answer  was  indeed  an  ordeal. ' ' 

"I  am  very  sorry  it  happened  so,  but  I  was 
taken  so  by  surprise  that  I  could  not  collect  my 
thoughts  sufficiently  to  think  of  the  fact  that  it 
demanded  an  answer;  but  the  facts  are  that,  for 
some  time,  I  have  loved  you  so  well,  and  you 
were  so  silent  on  this  subject  that  I  have,  until 
this  forenoon,  kept  the  secret  of  my  love  locked 
within  my  heart.  Often,  when  in  your  company, 
I  have  thought  of  my  own  love  for  you,  but  your 
extreme  silence  caused  me  to  wonder  and  ask 
myself  this  question,  'Will  he,  when  he  reaches 
man's  estate,  forget  me  and  seek  a  fairer  one  on 
whom  to  bestow  his  precious  love?'  Then, 
when" — 


44  THE   FALSE    STAR. 

"Enough,  sweet  one;  a  more  lovable  being 
than  you  does  not  exist.  When  the  Councils 
above  determined  to  send  you  to  this  world  it  was 
there  decided  by  a  unanimity  of  action,  that  you 
should  be  among  the  fairest;  that  within  your 
alabaster  bosom  should  be  the  home  of  one  of  the 
purest  hearts  ever  given  to  mortal.  Once  in  a 
dream,  my  imagination  soared  to  the  highest 
Heaven ;  and  it  was  mine  to  behold  the  angelic 
beauty  of  that  bright  realm.  I  saw  you  in  the 
midst  of  that  vast  multitude,  and  you  were  the 
fairest  of  all.  My  soul  was  lifted  to  the  highest 
degree  of  joy;  for  I  thought  you  mine,  wedded 
and  sealed,  for  time  and  eternity.  Then  sud- 
denly I  awoke,  something  told  me,  'Lola  is  not 
yours;  neither  do  I  know  that  she  ever  will  be, 
for  this  beautiful  flower  that  is  developing  into 
perfection,  may  be  wrested  from  you  by  the  hand 
of  another. '  Then,  in  my  most  earnest  prayer, 
I  asked  the  powers  above  to  guide  your  mind 
aright,  and  forbid  that  your  love  should  ever 
turn  to  another.  Guided  by  that  which  I  deemed 
to  be  prudence,  I  have  put  off,  until  the  latest 
date  possible,  this  question  of  love  to  you ;  but 
when  you  were  so  long  in  answering  my  note  I 
feared  that  if  did  not  meet  your  approval ;  those 
dreary  moments  of  waiting  seemed  hours;  but 
O !  the  sweet  relief  which  came  to  my  heart  when 
I  beheld  the  precious  words  you  sent  me.  Those 
were  sweet  and  happy  moments ;  for  a  time  I  was 
lost  in  meditation,  and  forgot  all  things  else  but 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  45 

you;  but  come,  my  dear,  you  did  not  finish  what 
you  were  going  to  say. ' ' 

"Again  you  take  my  wits  away.  You  charm 
me.  What  was  I  going  to  say?  O,  yes,  I  had 
forgotten ;  I  was  going  to  tell  you  that  when  I 
received  your  note  it  gave  me  such  a  shock,  at 
first,  that  I  scarcely  knew  what  to  do,  for  I  knew 
the  handwriting  on  the  envelope.  I  told  the  boy 
to  sit  down,  and  I  immediately  fepaired  to  my 
private  room ;  and  when  I  beheld  the  contents  of 
that  letter,  as  the  angels  are  my  witnesses,  I  felt 
that  the  joy  of  that  moment  could  never  be  ex- 
celled. My  long  pent  love  broke  free  from  every 
barrier.  I  laughed,  I  cried,  I  danced,  I  sang. 
Had  you  seen  me  then  you  would  have  thought 
me  crazy.  I  am  sure  I  never  would  have  thought 
to  answer  your  letter  if  mamma  hadn't  come  into 
the  room  and  called  my  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  messenger  was  still  waiting.  I  then  took 
further  time  for  her  to  read  it,  and  I  here  declare 
that  there  was  considerable  joy  and  satisfaction 
displayed  on  her  part,  even,  at  the  contents  of 
that  letter." 

Lola's  parents,  Willy,  and  Mr.  Stanton  walked 
into  the  parlor  at  this  moment,  and  the  conversa- 
tion changed. 

Mr.  Stanton  advancing  to  Adrian,  gave  his  hand 
and  said : — 

"My  young  friend,  I  am  remarkably  well 
pleased  to  note  the  step  you  have  taken." 

Still  holding  Adrian's  hand,  and  extending  his 
left  to  Lola,  he  continued : — 


46  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"I  am  exceedingly  glad  to  congratulate  you 
both  as  lovers.  Never  did  two  persons  more 
worthy  of  loving  each  other  meet  in  this  world; 
and  perhaps  I  was  the  first  person  to  ever  think 
of  you  in  this  light.  I  have  never  attended  a 
ball  in  a  house  of  worship  during  my  whole  life, 
except,  for  a  moment,  on  two  occasions,  when  I 
was  here  eight  or  nine  years  ago ;  I  then  went 
simply  to  see  with  my  own  eyes  that  such  things 
sometimes  happen;  neither  had  I  attended  such 
places,  as  a  participant,  for  a  long  time  before 
that;  but  as  this  is  to  be  rather  an  extra  occasion 
and  you  are  going  in  your  new  sphere  I  have 
concluded  to  walk  over  for  a  short  time  at  least.  *  * 

"We  thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Stanton,  for 
your  kind  expressions  in  our  behalf.  We  have 
just  been  felicitating  each  other  on  the  happy 
change, ' '  said  Adrian. 

Here  the  front  door  was  unceremoniously 
thrown  open,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waltham  came 
in  unannounced.  All  arose  to  greet  them,  and 
extend  the  courtesies  of  the  evening. 

"I  will  teach  you  better,  next  time,  than  to 
leave  your  father  and  mother  behind  when  you 
and  Lola  are  going  out  for  a  delightful  time, ' ' 
said  Mrs.  Waltham,  as  she  advanced  toward 
Adrian  and  Lola.  Then  taking  Lola  by  the  hand, 
she  kissed  her  fondly,  saying: 

"God  bless  you,  my  child." 

"This  is  hardly  fair,"  said  Mrs.  Allison;  "if 
you  kiss  Lola  and  call  her  your  child,  I  shall  kiss 
Adrian  and  call  him  my  boy. ' ' 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  47 

All  joined  in  a  merry  laugh  and  were  soon  on 
their  way  to  join  in  the  gay  festivities  at  the 
meeting-house. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  girl,  in  the  service  of  the  Waltham  family, 
overheard  the  conversation  between  Adrian  and 
his  mother,  in  the  sitting  room  that  day;  and, 
evidently  mistaking  what  he  actually  said  for  the 
announcement  of  an  engagement  of  himself  to 
Lola,  set  about  to  busy  herself  concerning  the 
imaginary  secret.  She  knew  that  Zina  Blather- 
skite was  desperately  in  love  with  Adrian  and 
that  she  was  bending  every  effort  to  allure  him 
into  her  meshes ;  so  this  busy  body  went  to  this 
powerful,  yet  dangerous,  bawd,  and  informed  her 
that  Adrian  and  Lola  had  just  become  engaged 
to  be  married,  and  that  it  was  to  take  place  at  no 
distant  date. 

' '  This  marriage  shall  never  take  place ;  never, 
no  never,  while  I  breathe  the  breath  of  life, ' '  said 
Zina  when  left  alone.  It  was  through  the  design 
of  Zina,  in  the  first  place,  that  this  girl  vSought  a 
position  in  the  Waltham  family,  Zina  bribing  her 
to  learn  every  movement  and  secret  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  to  report  to  her,  that  she  might  know 
their  whole  inner  life.  After  a  long  meditation 
in  silence,  she  again  said: — 

**I  will  spread  the  news  of  their  engagement 
far  and  wide,  and  will  make  my  first  demonstra- 
tions against  them  this  evening  at  the  ball.  I 
must  make  the  real  motive  of  my  actions  be  silent 

48 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  49 

as  the  grave,  for  I  must  have  the  dignitaries  of 
the  church  with  me.  I  know  how  to  get  their 
influence,  and  can,  if  I  will  only  condemn  in 
scathing  terms  the  everlasting  tendencies  of  these 
two  families  toward  monogamy:  it  shall  be  done.*' 

She  caused  this  news  to  be  circulated,  and  the 
story  had  become  generally  known  throughout 
the  town.  By  half  past  eight  o'clock  the  room 
was  filled  with  anxious  people  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  the  supposed-engaged  couple. 

The  aggregation  assembled  consisted  of  every 
class  of  Mormonism,  from  the  intellectual  leader 
of  this  stake,  President  John  Bodenheimer,  down 
to  the  most  servile  of  the  serfs. 

The  reception  committee  consisted  of  the  two 
young  men  who  were  going  on  the  mission,  David 
Blatherskite — son  of  Zina  before  marrying  the 
bishop — (father  of  David  unknown),  Miss  Electa 
Bodenheimer,  daughter  of  President  Bodenheimer 
by  his  third  wife;  Miss  Mary  Hildreth, 'daughter 
of  the  bishop  at  Spanish  Fork  by  his  seventh 
spouse,  and  Fannie  Larsen,  daughter  of  one  of 
BishopBlatherskite's  counselors  by  his  better  fifth. 
When  Adrian's  party  arrived,  the  members  of  the 
reception  committee  met  them  at  the  door,  and 
conducted  them  down  the  center  of  the  room  to 
the  altar,  where  they  separated,  the  ladies  to  the 
left,  and  the  gentlemen  to  the  right,  to  small 
dressing  rooms,  on  each  side  and  a  little  to  the 
rear  of  the  altar.  Lola  threw  her  wrap  across 
her  arm,  as  she  entered  the  door;  and,  as  they 


5o  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

walked  from  the  door  to  the  altar,  all  eyes  were 
turned  toward  her  and  Adrian.  Suppressed  whis- 
pers in  several  parts  of  the  room  passed  from 
neighbor  to  neighbor;  such  as  "Oh!  h'aint  she 
sweet!"  *'I  wonder  who  she  bought  that  purty 
dress  off  uv. ' ' 

After  they  were  in  the  dressing  rooms,  an  old 
sister  shook  her  head  suggestively,  saying: — 

"Ah,  me:  too  much  style;  they  need  their  pin 
feathers  plucked. ' ' 

An  envious,  ignorant,  young  fellow,  standing 
near,  heard  the  remark  of  the  good  sister  and 
replied : — 

"You're  right,  sister^ ,  by  hell." 

Then  Zina  Blatherskite  stepped  to  the  front  of 
the  altar  and  addressed  the  crowd  as  follows : — 

"These  infernal  monogamists  are  becoming 
entirely  too  numerous  around  here.  Adrian 
ought  never  to  be  permitted  to  marry  Lola,  at  all, 
nor  given  a  recommend  to  go  through  the  endow- 
ment house,  until  he  marries  someone  else,  then 
he  would  be  very  glad  to  enter  the  plural  relation 
with  her  as  a  second ;  besides  their  parents  might 
become  converted  to  the  plurality  also;  by  this 
means,  we  would  secure  all  of  them  as  advocates 
of  this  sacred  practice.  I  call  your  attention  to 
another  thing,  and  that  is,  that  they  are  contin- 
ually entertaining  these  Gentiles  who  go  through 
the  country  for  no  good  purpose ;  I  tell  you  it  is 
for  no  good.  These  un-Godly  Gentiles  want  to 
destroy  the  sacred  practice  of  plural  marriages ; 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  5 1 

and  here  they  have  brought  this  rank  Gentile, 
Vernon  Stanton,  with  them  this  evening.  If  he 
hadn't  come,  I  was  going  to  read  the  riot  act  to 
all  of  them;  there  is  one  thing  certain,  Adrian 
and  Lola  shall  never  marry,  until  he  has  taken 
another. ' ' 

"That's  right,  and  just  the  proper  doctrine, " 
echoed  Bishop  Lehman. 

President  Bodenheimer  then  spoke  up  and 
counseled  moderation  for  this  evening,  at  least ; 
and  said  further: — 

"We  have  gathered  here  to  have  a  good  time, 
and  to  celebrate  the  departure  of  two  brothers, 
who  go  on  a  mission  to  work  for  this  grand  prin- 
ciple, as  well  as,  all  the  rest  of  the  Prophet 
Joseph's  sacred  teachings.  Let  no  Saint  be  so 
indiscreet  as  to  reveal  one  word  that  our  good 
sister  Zina  has  spoken  here  this  evening." 

After  the  president  had  finished  his  remarks, 
Adrian  and  his  company  emerged  from  their  dress- 
ing room  and  stood  waiting  near  the  altar  for 
Lola,  her  mother,  and  Mrs.  Waltham,  who  joined 
them  in  a  few  moments.  At  this  juncture,  Zina 
marched  boldly  in  front  of  Adrian  and  Lola,  and, 
taking  Adrian  by  one  hand  and  Lola  by  the  other, 
said,  while  a  deceitful  smile  played  on  her  face, — 

"I  congratulate  each  of  you,  if  I  am  correctly 
informed,  on  the  step  j^ou  have  taken ;  and  I  wel- 
come you  and  your  party  to  our  festivities." 

During  this  little  speech,  she  was  all  the  while 
bowing  and  smiling  to  each  of  the  company. 


52  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"What  a  black-hearted  old  hypocrite !"  thought 
several  of  the  most  liberal  of  the  faithful ;  but 
they  dared  not  think  it  loud  enough  for  their 
neighbor  to  hear,  and  thus  let  it  reach  the 
ears  of  that  venomous,  influential  creature. 

Adrian  thanked  her  in  his  usual  honest  way, 
and  all  the  party  bowed  their  acknowledgments 
of  the  hearty  and  kind  reception  they  had  re- 
ceived. Zina  then  stepped  upon  the  altar  and 
said : — 

''All  is  now  in  readiness.  Will  the  musicians 
please  take  their  places  on  the  pulpit?  Now, 
Bishop  Lehman,  you  come  forward,  and,  in  com- 
pany with  myself,  act  as  floor  manager;  and 
Brother  Frank  Johnson  will  act  as  prompter. 
Now,  Brother  Bodenheimer,  come  to  the  pulpit 
and  lead  us  in  prayer. '  * 

All  complied  at  once.  The  president  standing 
on  the  altar,  Zina  continued : — 

"Now,  brethren  and  sisters,  you  will  all  rise 
and  be  led  in  prayer  by  the  president. " 

As  he  advanced  to  the  front  of  the  altar,  all 
arose,  and  the  president  offered  up  the  following 
prayer : — 

"Almighty  Father,  we  ask  Thy  blessing  upon 
this  gathering.  We  have  met  here  this  evening 
as  Thy  children  to  do  Thy  bidding,  to  raise  funds 
for  a  worthy  brother  to  go  out  and  work  in  Thy 
vineyard  for  the  upbuilding  of  Zion,  and  to  cele- 
brate the  departure  of  bo^  of  these  brothers. 

"Bless  their  labors,  Almighty  Parent,  and  may 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  53 

they  convert  many  souls  to  the  only  true  religion, 
and  bring  them  to  Zion.  Let  their  tongues  speak 
the  wisdom  that  shall  be  supplied  to  them  from 
on  high.  Let  them  be  cautious  and  discreet  in 
mentioning  our  sacred  practices  of  the  plurality 
unto  the  ungodly,  while  they  are  yet  in  darkness 
and  cannot  appreciate  it;  for  well  do  we  know 
that,  in  the  course  of  Thy  divine  providence,  all 
men  will  be  led  into  the  light. 

"'We  ask  Thy  blessing  on  our  dear  Sister  Zina, 
who  has  labored  with  unabated  zeal  for  the  suc- 
cess of  this  occasion.  Bless  the  brothers  and 
sisters  who  have  acted  on  her  various  committees. 
Sanctify  their  work  to  Thine  own  glory.  Finally 
we  ask  Thy  blessing  on  all  true  Saints  every- 
where; give  them  strength  to  overcome  their 
enemies,  and  power  to  rule  this  country;  and, 
finally,  save  us  all,  we  ask  in  the  name  of  Thy 
servant  and  true  prophet,  Joseph.     Amen." 

As  soon  as  the  prayer  was  ended,  Zina  an- 
nounced,— 

**We  will  now  sing  the  'missionary  hymn:'  " 

"Lo!  the  Gentile  chain  is  broken; 
Freedom's  banner  waves  on  high; 
List,  ye  nations !  by  this  token 
Know  that  your  redemption's  nigh. 

"See,  on  yonder  distant  mountain, 
Zion's  standard  wide  unfurled ; 
Far  above  Missouri's  fountain, 
Lo !  it  waves  for  all  the  world. 

"Freedom,  peace  and  full  salvation, 
Are  the  blessings  guaranteed ; 
Liberty  to  every  nation. 
Every  tongue  and  every  creed. 


54  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Come,  ye  Christian  sects  and  pagan, 
Po|>e,  and  Protestant  and  priest ; 
Worshipers  of  God  or  Dagon, 
Come  ye  to  fair  Freedom's  feast. 

"Come,  ye  sons  of  doubt  and  wonder, 
Indian,  Moslem,  Greek  or  Jew; 
All  your  shackles  burst  asunder, 
Freedom's  banner  waves  for  you." 

As  they  sang  this  song  which  entitled  the  stand- 
ard of  Mormonism,  vice  and  shame  as  being 
the  "Banner  of  Freedom,"  Vernon  Stanton's 
soul  was  filled  with  disgust ;  and  he  said  to  him- 
self,— 

"Even  the  sacred  name,  'Freedom's  Banner,' 
which  has  ever  been  entwined  with  that  of  'Old 
Glory, '  has  been  torn  from  its  towering  monu- 
ment of  loyalty  by  the  poets  of  this  organization 
of  deception  and  crime,  and  woven  into  its  hymns. 
There  is  nothing  free  with  this  vast  machine,  ex- 
cept the  sexual  relations  of  a  great  majority  of  its 
members ;  otherwise,  they  are  bond  slaves  to  the 
priesthood,  with  shackles  riveted  so  firmly  that 
they  dare  not  think,  much  less  act,  contrary  to 
the  will  of  their  masters. " 

As  soon  as  the  song  was  ended,  Bishop  Leh- 
man took  charge,  and  announced  the  following: 

"Brethren,  you  will  all  take  your  partners  for 
the  grand  march.  Sister  Zina  and  myself  will 
lead  the  same,  yes,  lead  the  same." 

They  soon  formed  in  numbers  sufficient  to 
make  the  floor  very  much  crowded,  Zina  seeing 
to  it  that  Adrian  and  Lola  were  the  next  couple 
after  herself  and  the   bishop,  so  that  she  could 


THE    FALSF    STAR.  55 

have  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to  Adrian  when 
the  sets  were  formed  at  the  close  of  the  march. 

He  had  cautiously  avoided  her  for  the  past  year, 
it  every  turn  he  possibly  could,  all  the  while 
being  very  careful  not  to  give  her  offense;  yet 
the  advances  she  made  toward  him,  at  every  op- 
portunity she  had,  were  so  distasteful  to  him,  at 
times,  that  he  was  tempted  to  tell  her  that  he 
could  hardly  bear  her  in  his  sight.  Then,  as  Tie 
would  reflect  over  his  condition  and  her  wonder- 
ful power  to  do  him  harm,  he  would  suppress  his 
feelings,  and  treat  her  with  respectful  courtesies, 
of  which  he  deemed  her  wholly  unworthy. 

From  this  time,  until  three  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  the  floor  was  alive  with  merry  dancers 
of  every  age  and  size  between  eight  and  eighty 
years. 

A  long  table,  laden  with  good  things  to  eat, 
stood  in  the  large  room  immediately  behind  the 
altar  and  two  side  rooms.  The  guests  went  into 
this  room  by  means  of  doors  between  the  pulpit, 
or  music  stand,  and  the  two  side  rooms.  The 
spread  was  kept,  continuously,  with  the  finest 
edibles  known  to  the  valley,  and  waiters  dressed 
in  white  were  kept  busy  waiting  on  the  crowds 
who  came  to  eat  and  to  pay  for  the  good  things 
■which  they  had  previously  donated.  Those  who 
had  cash  were  compelled  to  pay  in  that,  but  those 
who  had  only  scrip  could  pay  in  that,  at  the  usual 
discount  of  twenty  per  cent. ,  which  a  great  major- 
ity were  compelled  to  do. 


56  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

A  small  stand  with  waiters  was  kept  in  the 
gents'  dressing  room,  where  the  guests  could  go 
and  be  accommodated  with  all  kinds  of  drinks, 
the  receipts  thereof  helping  to  swell  the  mission 
fund.  Many  of  the  men  and  large  boys,  and 
even  some  of  the  sisters,  patronized  this  part  of 
the  refreshments  freely,  among  this  number 
being  Zina,  "The  Divine,"  who,  it  was  noticed, 
was  comfortably  full  ere  the  ball  was  ended. 

All  took  part  in  the  pleasures  except  Mr.  Stan- 
ton; he  partook  of  the  supper  only,  which  he 
really  enjoyed,  and  pronounced  a  splendid  repast. 

The  night  was  wearing  away ;  the  dance  still 
continued;  many  of  the  guests  wore  a  tired  look, 
yet  scorned  the  very  thoughts  of  leaving.  Lola 
was  dancing  with  James  Blatherskite,  and  the 
"Divine  Zina"  now  saw  an  opportunity  of  talking 
with  Adrian  alone.  Adrian  had  started  to  find  a 
seat  by  Vernon  Stanton,  but  barely  had  he 
moved,  when  before  him  stood  the  infamous  crea- 
ture, who  placed  her  hand  on  his  shoulder  and 
whispered, — 

"Come,  converse  with  me;  you  are  free  now, 
and  no  one  will  hear.  * ' 

"I  had  just  started  to  find  a  seat  near  Mr.  Stan- 
ton ;  I  see  him  sitting  alone  across  the  room. ' ' 

"O,  you  can  talk  with  him  any  time.  Come 
with  me ;  I  want  no  time  wasted.  I  have  waited 
for  this  opportunity  all  the  evening,  and  I  must 
speak  to  you  alone. ' ' 

Adrian  saw  that  she  was  determined  to  force 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  57 

him  to  a  private  conversation,  so  he  took  her  arm 
and  walked  into  the  ladies'  room.  On  entering 
the  room  Zina  promptly  closed  the  door.  She 
began  by  saying  in  a  pouting  way, — 

"Adrian,  why  have  you  not  danced  with  me 
to-night?" 

*'Why,"  he  said  hesitatingly,  "you  have  missed 
very  few  dances  and  should  be  satisfied.  It  hap- 
pened that  I  always  found  some  lady  friend  near 
me  to  assist  me  in  the  dance." 

She  leaned  her  head  on  his  shoulder  and  in- 
sisted,— 

**0  Adrian,  yon  can  never  know  how  you  are 
loved." 

Adrian's  heart  was  elsewhere;  he  could  think 
of  no  one  in  the  whole  world,  in  this  light,  but 
Lola.     Then  drawing  back  from  her,  he  said, — 

"I  love  but  one.  " 

*'Ah!  Adrian,  that  is  what  I  feared.  You  are 
too  exclusive  in  your  love.  Love  is  a  free  gift 
from  heaven,  and  when  given,  it  should  be  freely 
bestowed  on  all  who  are  willing  to  love  in  return. " 

Adrian  felt  that  he  was  not  in  the  proper  place ; 
his  keen  sense  of  prudence  caused  him  to  blush 
with  shame ;  he  opened  the  door,  and  to  his  great 
relief  saw  them  forming  for  another  dance.  He 
took  her  arm  saying, — 

"Come,  we  will  dance  now." 

As  this  was  a  cotillion,  it  did  not  please  her ; 
she  would  have  much  preferred  a  round  dance 
with  Adrian;  but  as  he  was  engaged  for  the 
next  dance,  she  had  to  be  content. 


58  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

At  the  hour  of  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
Bishop  Lehman  stepped  to  the  front  of  the  altar 
and  said, — 

"It  is  now  time  to  bring  this  grand  ball  to  a 
close.  We  hope  that  all  have  had  a  glorious  time. 
Will  Brother  Blatherskite  dismiss  us  with 
prayer?" 

Bishop  Blatherskite  advanced  to  the  center  of 
the  room,  and  raising  his  eyes  and  hands  implor^. 
ingly  said, — 

"Almighty  Father,  we  ask  Thy  blessing  upon 
these  pleasant  associations.  Grant  that  we  may 
have  a  happy  continuation  of  the  same.  Go  with 
us  through  the  changing  scenes  of  life,  and  save 
us,  we  ask  in  the  name  of  Joseph.     Amen." 

Although  Vernon  Stanton  had  stayed  until  the 
festivities  were  over,  he  had  taken  no  pleasure  in 
them;  he  had  simply  stayed  in  order  to  know  all 
that  took  place  at  one  of  these  balls,  given  in  a 
house  supposed  to  be  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
God.  These  thoughts  filled  his  mind  as  he  left 
the  building, — 

"Is  there  a  self-respecting  body  of  church  mem- 
bers on  earth  who  would  have  such  scenes  as, 
these  I  have  witnessed  this  night,  in  their  sacred 
places  of  worship — conducted  by  its  leaders?  I 
am  convinced  there  is  not. ' ' 


CHAPTER  VI. 

On  the  Sunday  following  the  grand  ball,  at  the 
hour  of  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  regular 
Sunday  meeting  was  held  in  the  same  building. 
The  house  was  well- filled,  but  some  of  the  mem- 
bers were  not  so  full  as  they  were  on  the  pre- 
vious Friday  night. 

After  the  regular  singing  and  prayer,  Bishop 
Blatherskite,  taking  a  pinch  of  snuff,  and  shaking 
himself  together,  arose  as  the  first  speaker  and 
addressed  the  congregation  in  a  moderate  speech. 
He  was  followed  by  each  of  the  young  mission- 
aries in  turn;  then  Bishop  Lehman  arose  and 
made  a  strong  plea  for  the  universal  practice  of 
polygamy,  closing  with  the  following  words: — 

"In  conclusion,  my  brothers  and  sisters,  allow 
me  to  quote  from  our  holy  prophet,  Brigham, 
when  he  uttered  the  most  sacred  words  which 
ever  fell  from  his  pure  lips,  yes,  his  pure  lips. 
The  words  of  the  holy  prophet  must  and  shall  be 
fulfilled." 

Here  he  read  from  President  Young's  words  as 
recorded  in  the  "Journal  of  Discourses,"  as  fol- 
lows:— 

"I  know  what  my  women  will  say.  They  will 
say :  *  You  can  have  as  many  women  as  you  please, 
Brigham. ' 

"But  I  want  to  go  somewhere  and  do  something 

59  .  ., 


6o  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  get  rid  of  the  whiners ;  I  dp  not  want  them  to 
receive  a  part  of  the  truth  and  spurn  the  rest  out 
of  doors. 

**Let  every  man  thus  treat  his  wives,  keeping 
raiment  enough  to  clothe  his  body,  and  say  to 
his  wives,  'Take  all  that  I  have,  and  be  set  at  lib- 
erty; but  if  you  stay  with  me,  you  shall  comply 
with  the  law  of  God,  and  that,  too,  without  any 
murmuring  and  whining.  You  must  fulfill  the 
law  of  God  in  every  respect,  and  round  up  your 
shoulders  to  walk  up  to  the  mark  without  any 
grunting. 

"Now  recollect  that  two  weeks  from  to-morrow 
I  atn  going  to  set  you  at  liberty.  But  the  first 
wife  will  say,  *  It  is  hard,  for  I  have  lived  with 
my  husband  twenty  years  or  thirty,  and  have 
raised  a  family  of  children  for  him,  and  it  is  a 
great  trial  to  me  for  him  to  have  more  women. ' 
Then  I  say  that  it  is  time  that  you  give  him  up 
to  other  women  who  will  bear  children.  If  my 
wife  had  borne  me  all  the  children  that  she  ever 
would  bear,  the  celestial  law  would  teach  me  to 
take  young  women  that  would  have  children. 

"Sisters,  I  am  not  joking;  1  do  not  throw  out 
my  proposition  to  banter  your  feelings,  to  see 
whether  you  will  leave  your  husbands,  all  or  any 
of  you.  But  I  do  know  that  there  is  no  cessation 
to  the  everlasting  whining  of  many  of  the  women 
of  this  Territory.  And  if  the  women  turn  from 
the  commandments  of  God  and  continue  to  despise 
the  order  of  heaven,  I  will  pray  that  the  curse  of 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  6l 

the  Almighty  may  be  close  to  their  heels,  and 
that  it  may  be  following  them  all  the  day  long. 
And  those  that  enter  into  it  and  are  faithful,  I 
will  promise  them  that  they  shall  be  queens  in 
heaven,  and  rulers  to  all  eternity."* 

As  he  finished  the  reading  of  this  quotation, 
he  brought  his  clinched  fist  down  on  the  altar 
with  a  vengeance,  then  looking  straight  at  the 
Allisons  and  Walthams,  he  continued  in  a  loud 
voice : — 

"And  I  say  to  you,  my  brothers  and  sisters,  that 
the  holy  prophet  further  said,  'If  any  of  you  deny 
the  plurality  of  wives  and  continue  to  do  so,  I 
promise  that  you  will  be  damned.'  "  f 

Here  the  bishop  closed,  the  congregation  sang 
"Hurrah  for  the  Camp  of  Israel,"  and  the  meet- 
ing was  dismissed. 

On  that  same  evening  the  Waltham  family  spent 
several  hours  with  the  Allison  family.  During 
the  course  of  the  meeting  Lola  observed  a  shade 
of  sadness  on  her  mother's  face,  and  going  to  her 
side  she  asked  in  a  low  tone, — 

"Mamma,  you  look  sad,  are  you  not  well?" 

Her  mother  replied  as  tears  came  to  her  eyes, — 

"My  dear  child,  if  all  the  women  who  attended 
meeting  this  afternoon  feel  as  I  do,  there  are 
many  sad  hearts  in  this  town  to-night. ' ' 

While  this  quiet  conversation  was  taking  place 
between  Lola  and  her  mother,  the  men  were  dis- 

*  Des.  News,  Vol.  VI,  4  Jour.  Dis.  56. 
1 3  Jovir.  of  Dis.  266. 


62  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

cussing  the  events  and  receipts  of  the  ball,  when 
Mr.  Waltham  addressing  Mr.  Stanton,  said: — 

'*By  the  way,  Mr.  Stanton,  how  did  you  enjoy 
the  ball?" 

All  eyes  turned  to  Mr.  Stanton,  as  they  were 
eager  to  hear  his  reply. 

"I  did  not  like  it  in  the  least,  and  only  stayed 
until  it  was  over,  after  I  was  there,  from  curi- 
osity. ' ' 

'*Was  there  anything  curious  about  it,  or  out 
of  the  line  of  the  usual  way  of  conducting  balls?" 

"Yes,  there  were  many  things  out  of  the  line 
of  the  usual,  as  I  view  them." 

"May  I  ask  what  they  were?" 

"Since  you  ask  I  will  give  you  my  reasons. 
First,  it  is  a  very  unusual  thing  for  balls  to  be 
given  in  a  church.  Secondly,  I  never  saw  men, 
claiming  to  be  divines,  take  the  lead  in  worldly 
pastime,  especially  dancing.  And  again,  it  seems 
to  me  like  sacrilege  to  open  and  close  a  gathering 
of  this  kind  with  prayer.  Things  sacred  should 
be  treated  as  such.  There  are  many  things  that 
might  be  carried  on  with  propriety  in  a  theater  or 
dance  hall,  which  cannot  be  proper,  under  any 
circumstances,  in  a  house  that  is  dedicated  to  the 
worship  of  God.  To  see  the  president  of  this 
s.take  offer  up  prayer,  asking  a  blessing  on  the 
people  gathered  there,  and  later  to  see  men  and 
women  going  into  an  adjacent  room,  under  that 
same  influence,  and  there  carry  on  such  actions  as 
are  only  seen  in  the  lowest  drunken  dive,  seem 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  63 

to  me  wholly  incompatible  with  the  rules  of  mo- 
rality, to  say  nothing  of  the  refining  influences  that 
Christianity  ought  to  bring.  While  I  do  not  pose 
as  a  model  Christian,  yet  1  feel  that  I  should  ask 
forgiveness  for  being  in  such  a  place  and  remain- 
ing as  long  as  I  did.  This  ought  not  to  be ;  when 
people  assemble  at  a  house  dedicated  for  worship, 
they  should  have  no  cause  for  regrets  when  leav- 
ing." 

There  was  a  painful  silence  followed.  Each 
member  of  the  company  present  seemed  in  deep 
meditation ;  his  words  seemed  to  sink  into  their 
very  souls. 

Then  Mr.  Waltham,  turning  in  his  chair  as  if 
awakened  from  a  dream,  broke  the  silence,  say- 
ing,— 

"Our  young  people  must  have  places  of  amuse- 
ment; is  it  not  better  for  these  good  men  and  older 
people  to  be  with  them,  to  save  them  from  ex- 
cesses?" 

"Good  people  who  have  attained  mature  judg- 
ment certainly  ought  to  lend  an  elevating  influ- 
ence to  the  young ;  but  in  this  case,  if  I  should 
say  the  young  should  go  along  with  the  old  to 
keep  them  from  excesses,  I  would  not  waver  far 
from  the  truth." 

"What  have  you  to  say,  father,  as  to  what  he 
says  about  having  dances  in  our  places  of  wor- 
ship?" asked  Adrian. 

"Well,  I  hardly  know  as  to  that,  " 

He  paused,  when  Mr.  Allison,  interrupting, 
said : — 


64  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

"As  to  that  part  of  the  argument,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  he  is  absolutely  right,  and  I  shall 
never  attend  one  given  in  these  sacred  places 
again. ' ' 

*'I  have  never  thought  the  meeting  houses 
were  the  proper  places  to  give  these  balls, ' '  said 
Mrs.  Allison,  "nor  have  I  ever  gone  to  them 
with  my  own  consent.  I  have  never  enjoyed 
them,  for  I  have  always  felt  out  of  place;  but  it 
was  our  custom,  and  I  have  often  wondered  if  I 
was  the  only  one  who  felt  that  way. '  * 

The  conversation  here  drifted  into  another 
channel ;  then  Adrian  asked  Lola  to  favor  them 
with  some  music.  She  stepped  to  the  piano  and 
rendered  several  instrumental  selections.  Then, 
striking  the  keys  as  if  by  magical  touch,  she  sang 
"I  Canna  Leave  the  Old  Folk  Now,  We'd  Better 
Bide   a  Wee." 

Her  sweet  voice  was  at  its  best,  and,  as  it  filled 
the  room  with  its  charming  melody,  blending  the 
delicate  vibrations  of  the  accompaniment  in  per- 
fect unison  with  the  sentiment,  a  thrill  of  joy,  at 
once  sublime,  filled  every  heart. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

During  the  progress  of  the  meeting  at  the  Alli- 
son home,  another  meeting  was  being  held  at  the 
private  apartments  of  Zina  Blatherskite.  Zina 
had  never  met  with  a  brother,  either  young  or 
old,  who  had  not  succumbed  to  her  cunning  ways 
of  love  when  all  her  power  was  brought  to  bear; 
and  when  Adrian  indicated  that  he  did  not  care 
to  enter  the  field  of  shame,  there  to  pluck  the 
luscious  bloom,  it  aroused  a  fire  of  lustful  love 
which  knew  no  bounds,  which  to  miss  would 
crush  her  every  hope.  She  resolved  on  strategy; 
and,  if  that  failed,  she  would  sacrifice  his  life. 

At  the  long  supper  table  of  Bishop  Blather- 
skite, after  all  the  twelve  wives  and  most  of  the 
children  had  been  comfortably  seated,  with  the 
bishop  at  the  head  and  Zina  at  the  foot,  all  be- 
came quiet  for  a  moment,  then  the  bishop  returned 
thanks  for  the  blessings  bestowed.  The  blessing 
ended;  then  Zina  began, — 

"Bishop,  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to 
speak  to  you  about  a  litt\|^  matter  of  business 
to-day;  consequently  I  want  you  to  meet  me  and 
Bishop  Lehman  at  my  room  promptly  at  eight 
o'clock." 

"My  dear  Zina,  I  have  made  other  arrange- 
ments for  this  evening,  and  I  fear  I  shall  have  to 
disappoint  you." 

65 
5 


66  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

*'Curse  your  engagements;  you  had  no  busi- 
ness to  make  other  arrangements  without  con- 
sulting someone  else." 

"I  did  consult  Rhoda. " 

"Yes,"  said  Rhoda,  "he  did  consult  me,  and  it 
is  to  spend  the  evening  with  me,  for  we  have  not 
had  an  evening  to  ourselves  for  two  months  or 
more. ' ' 

"I   don't   care   a  if  it  has   been    twelve 

months;  he  shall  come  to  my  room  this  evening, 
for  we  have  church  matters  to  consult  about, 
which  must  be  attended  to  without  delay." 

"What  is  it  that  is  so  urgent,  Sister  Zina?" 
said  Rhoda. 

"It  is  to  consult  about  how  to  proceed  in  the 
matter  concerning  young  Adrian  Waltham  and 
Lola  Allison,  if  you  must  know.  These  two 
3^oung  people  and  their  parents  are  getting  very 
stiff-necked  on  the  subject  of  the  blessed  plural- 
ity, and  their  stubbornness  shall  be  subdued. ' ' 

"Well,  about  that  matter,  I  think" — said 
Rhoda  hesitatingly,  as  if  fearing  to  let  her 
thoughts  be  known — "that  is  a  matter  where  they 
should  be  allowed  to  act  according  to  their  own 
minds.  If  they  want  to  marry  and  live  to  them- 
selves, that  should  be  their  privilege.  I  can 
hardly  endure  this  interfering  with  matters  of 
matrimony  from  outside  parties,  and,  if  I  were 
the  bishop,  I  would  not  have  anything  to  do  with 
it." 

"I  know  well  and  good  that  these  are  your  sen- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  67 

timents,  but  they  are  not  the  sentiments  of  a  good 
Saint.  If  the  bishop  had  gone  according  to  your 
wishes,  he  would  have  had  only  you  and  your 
three  children  to  exalt  him  in  his  future  life;  but 
by  going  according  to  wise  counsel,  he  has  eleven 
more  wives  and  seventy-five  more  children  for 
his  eternal  exaltation,"  quoth  Zina  emphatically. 

The  other  ten  "hand-maids"  nodded  their  heads 
in  assent,  exclaiming  in  chorus,  "That's  right. 
Sister  Zina;  that's  right." 

"I  say,  to  you  all,  that-  it  is  not  right,"  said 
Rhoda  emphatically.  *'I  know  that  he  is  not  the 
father  of  all  of  them,  for  David  was  born  before 
the  bishop  ever  saw  you,  Zina,"  and,  with  a 
significant  glance  around  the  table,  she  contin- 
ued, "and  there  may  be  several  others  who  will 
not  add  to  the  bishop's  exaltation." 

Such  a  thrust  as  this  was  never  known  to  come 
from  the  kind-hearted,  mild-tempered  Rhoda. 
She  was  a  true,  devoted  Christian,  and,  as  such, 
her  very  soul  revolted  against  polygamy.  She 
had  been  tortured  beyond  endurance  by  his  eleven 
plurals;  and  now  to  be  deprived  of  his  company, 
at  a  time  when  she  so  earnestly  desired  it,  by 
this  woman,  in  the  face  of  his  engagement  with 
her,  his  only  wife,  was  more  than  she  could  bear. 

"You  infamous  apostate!  Cursed  creature  of 
the  Almighty !  Dare  insult  me  again  and  I  will 
scald  your  infernal  eyes  out  with  the  contents  of 
this  coffee  pot, ' '  said  Zina,  clutching  the  handle 
of  a  large,  steaming  coffee  pot  beside  her. 


68  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

'*  And  you  would  do  her  about  right,  for  she  de- 
serves it,  in  the  face  of  her  malicious  insinuations, ' " 
declared  the  better  tenth  of  the  bishop,  who  sat 
next  to  Zina.  James  Blatherskite,  a  twenty-year- 
old  son  of  Rhoda,  was  her  oldest  child,  and  only 
son.  He  was  sitting  by  her  side,  during  this 
violent  attack  on  his  mother.  Pale  with  rage, 
his  eyes  flashing  with  the  fire  of  resentment, 
James  pushed  his  chair  back  and  rising,  glared, 
like  an  aroused  tiger,  on  the  base  creatures,  who 
were  the  source  of  all  his  mother's  great  suffer- 
ings, saying :  — 

'*  Let  either  of  you  barbarian  strumpets  dare 
touch  my  mother,  and  I  will  fill  that  one  of  you 
full  of  lead."  Then  turning  to  his  father  he  con- 
tinued, *' Father,  why  do  you  allow  my  mother  to 
be  subjected  to  such  treatment  as  this?  She  is 
too  good  to  be  among  them.  What  she  has 
intimated  about  children  of  this  family  that  are 
not  yours,  is  trUe  to  the  tune  of  six.  Put  me  to 
the  test,  and  I'll  prove  it;  'by  the  eternal,' I 
will. " 

*'Well,  well,  well.  Now,  don't  let  this  matter 
go  any  further.  It  don't  do  any  good  to  carry 
on  like  this ;  besides,  good  Saints  ought  to  know 
better.  In  order  to  have  no  more  trouble,  I  will 
go  to  your  room,  Zina,  promptly  at  eight;  and, 
Rhoda,  I  will  visit  you  from  seven  to  eight.  Now, 
James,  don't  make  another  display  of  your  tem- 
per as  yOu  have  here  this  evening;  men  ought  to 
know     better     than  to    interfere    with    trifling 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  69 

disputes  among  the  women.  Now,  Rhoda,  it 
wants  fifty  minutes  of  seven;  I  will  be  at  your 
room  promptly  at  that  hour." 

"You  need  not  trouble  yourself;  if  you  can't 
fulfill  your  engagement,  I  pray  you  not  to  come 
at  all." 

"Well,  I  am  sorr)%  but  I  guess  that  will  do. 
It's  anything  with  me  to  stop  this  brawl,  and 
keep  peace  in  the  family,  and  everything  quiet  on 
the  Timpanogos. " 

The  rest  of  the  meal  was  eaten  in  silence,  and 
Zina  felt,  as  she  always  did,  that  she  was  victori- 
ous. Poor  Rhoda  felt  that  polygamy  was  an 
awful  curse;  and  in  her  soul's  deep  anguish  she 
recalled  the  happy  days  when  her  husband's  love 
was  undivided;  what  a  blessing  it  would  have 
been  to  her  and  her  children,  if  that  happy  con- 
dition could  have  continued.  She  recalled  the 
day  when  they  were  wed,  when  he  told  her  that 
she  was  his  only  love  and  ever  would  be ;  but  alas ! 
they  had  been  married  but  one  short  year,  when 
the  leaders  counseled  him  to  take  another  woman 
to  rob  her  of  her  husband's  love  and  the  happi- 
ness of  her  home.  Then  she  protested;  she 
pronounced  the  practice  as  being  evil  and  licen- 
tious; she  was  counseled  and  advised  by  the  lead- 
ers to  cast  away  her  sinful  spirit  or  she  would  be 
forever  damned ;  still  she  would  not  yield.  As  a 
final  result,  they  threatened  that  her  blood  should 
be  spilled  as  an  atonement  for  her  sins;  this 
crushed  her  outward  protests,  but  no  power  could 
crush  her  consciousness  of  right. 


70  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

As  these  thoughts  passed  through  her  mind,  she 
grew  pale,  a  fullness  raised  in  her  throat ;  she  could 
not  eat;  she  left  the  dining  room  and  sought  the 
privacy  of  her  own  chamber,  where  she  threw 
herself  adross  hefr  bed  and  sobbed  bitterly;  then 
raising  her  voice  to  heaven  in  prayer,  she  asked, 
"O  Father  in  heaven,  hear  Thou  my  earnest 
•supplication.  As  ThoU  hast  tempered  the  winds 
to  the  shorn  lamb,  wilt  Thou  not  likewise  shield 
me  from  this  storm  of  cruel  injustice?  If  it  were 
not  for  my  children,  I  would  pray  that  You  take 
me  from  this  cruel  world,  but  I  must  live  for 
their  sakes.  Gracious  God!  Can  this  be  the 
religion  of  Christ  that  destroys  the  happiness  of 
home  and  breaks  a  mother's  heart?  It  cannot 
'l5e.     It  cannot  be. " 

James  left  the  table  at  the  close  of  liis  father's 
remarks  and  went  to  his  room;  he  heard  his 
mother  come  to  her  room  a  few  minutes  later. 
He  thought  he  heard  her  sobbing,  and  started  to 
go  to  comfort  her;  on  opening  the  door  softly  he 
heard  that  prayer.  He  closed  the  door  softly  as 
he  had  opened  it — sank  irito  the  first  chair,  and 
burst  into  a  flood  of  tears ;  then  in  a  low  voice 
amid  his  tears,  he  prayed,  ''Heavenly  Father, 
relieve  tri^'  poor  mother  from  tliis  terrible  suffer- 
ing; bless  her,  I  beseech  Thee — she  who  has  the 
purest  of  hearts — -she  who  never  wronged  any 
mortal.  Have  compassion  on  he^  I  "humbly 
beseech  Thee." 

He  walked  the  floor;    he  felt  as  if  his  heart 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  71 

would  break.  He  stepped  into  the  hall,  hastened 
down  the  stairs  and  into  the  open  air. 

The  mother  needed  not  the  prayer  of  her  dar- 
ling boy,  for  she  was  dead.  Her  ''spirit  had 
returned  unto  God  who  gave  it." 

James  returned  soon  from  his  walk  somewhat 
refreshed, and  found  his  sisters  in  the  sitting-room. 
They  all  went  upstairs  together.  Evelyn  was 
busy  in  her  room,  and  James  told  Lily  to  see  if 
their  mamma  was  still  up.  Lily  went  and  opened 
the  door  quietly;  it  was  dark  and  still,  so  she 
closed  the  door  saying, — 

"Mamma  is  asleep,  brother." 

"I  am  glad,  I  hope  she  will  have  a  good  night's 
rest. ' ' 

The  children  soon  retired,  but  James  could  not 
sleep — the  sound  of  his  mother's  voice  when  she 
said,  "Can  this  be  the*  religion  of  Christ  that 
destroys  the  happiness  of  homes  and  breaks  a 
mother's  heart?"  still  rang  in  his  ears,  and  many 
times  did  he  repeat  her  sweet  answer  ere  he  fell 
asleep — "It  cannot  be." 

Promptly  at  eight  o'clock  Bishop  Blatherskite 
stepped  into  Zina's  private  parlor,  she  being 
the  only  one  of  the  twelve  allowed  such  a 
room.  This  room  was  about  twenty  feet  from 
the  room  where  lay  the  body  of  his  dead  wife — 
the  only  woman  of  all  that  household  who  was 
worthy  of  the  sacred  name  of  wife  or  mother. 

Shortly  after  the  appointed  time.  Bishop  Leh- 
man made  his  appearance.     Zina  locked  the  door 


72  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

as  he  passed  into  her  room,  then  going  through 
her  bed  chamber  to  the  children's  door,  locked  it, 
and  returned  to  the  parlor  saying,  "I  do  not  want 
to  be  bothered  with  children,  at  an  important 
meeting  like  this. ' ' 

'*We  have  all  met  as  agreed,  Sister  Zina,"  said 
Lehman. 

"Yes,  but  I  had  a  hot  chase  to  run  Bishop 
Blatherskite  in  here.  Old  Rhoda  had  made  an 
engagement  with  him,  and  I  almost  had  to  make 
a  scene  in  order  to  break  it  off.  I'll  bet  I  teach 
her  a  lesson  one  of  these  days.  The  rest  of  the 
bishop's  wives  are  all  perfectly  agreeable;  but 
you  take  an  old  Jezebel  with  Gentile  tendencies 
and  apostate  proclivities,  and  she  is  sure  to  be 
obstinate  every  time.  She  opposed  the  bishop's 
taking  any  of  his  other  wives,  and  they  have  each 
been  far  better  wives  than  she  has  been ;  any  of 
them  have  borne  more  children  to  him  than  she. 
You  know,  Brother  Lehman,  that  it  has  been  the 
great  desire  of  the  bishop  to  be  sealed  to  several 
great  singers  that  are  dead;  and  they  have  all 
been  set  aside  for  him  by  President  Young,  at 
least  a  dozen  of  the  best,  who  have  never  been 
sealed  to  any  one,  are  among  this  number.  The 
rest  of  us  are  all  perfectly  willing,  knowing  how 
well  he  likes  good  singing ;  but  Rhoda  won't  give 
her  consent,  she  says  it  is  perfect  foolishness.  I 
am  clear  out  of  patience  with  her  for  the  way 
she  did  this  evening  at  the  supper  table.  I'll 
make  her  suffer  for  that  yet.     I " 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  73 

"Zina,  dear  Zina,"  said  Blatherskite  chidingly, 
*'now  let  that  pass  by.  You  have  had  your  way, 
and  that  ought  to  satisfy  you." 

"Well,  we  will  let  that  pass,  I  guess,  for  this 
evening,"  said  she,  "and  take  up  this  other  mat- 
ter. You  remember  what  I  said  at  the  ball  the 
other  evening?  Well,  I  have  fully  made  up  my 
mind  that  Adrian  and  Lola  shall  be  brought  to 
time;  they  assumed  to  be  very  independent, 
especially  Adrian;  they  must  be  taught  that 
there  is  a  power  that  can  make  them  bend. 
They  are  both  very  adverse  to  the  blessed  plu- 
rality; but  by  managing  the  matter  properly,  we 
can  force  them  into  this  relation;  and  when  once 
in  it,  they  dare  not  renounce  it.  Bishop  Lehman 
and  I  have  had  a  conference  on  the  subject,  and 
we  have  decided  on  a  plan  of  action.  When  they 
want  their  recommend  to  go  through  the  endow- 
ment house,  you  must  deny  it  to  them,  until  he 
has  either  taken  another,  or  agrees  to  take  Lola 
and  another  on  the  same  day,  then  give  your 
recommend  as  his  bishop  for  all  three.  He  must 
consult  you  as  his  bishop  and  file  leader,  and  get 
your  recommend  the  first  move  he  makes  in  this 
direction,  among  our  holy  leaders;  therefore,  it 
becomes  your  duty  to  recommend  to  him  the 
blessed  plurality,  and  press  it  to  the  limit;  then 
President  Bodenheimer  must  endorse  your  action, 
next.  If  they  refuse  to  accept  this  counsel,  deny 
them  any  recommend  whatever.  Lola  was 
never  designed  for  Adrian  anyway,    for  Bishop 


74  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Lehman  has  already  received  a  divine  revelation 
that  she  should  be  his  sixth,  and  this  was  long 
before  Adrian  ever  made  love  to  her.  Brother 
Lehman  has  already  indicated  this  revelation  to 
President  Bodenheimer. " 

"Is  this  a  fact,  Brother  Lehman?"  said  Blather- 
skite, with  a  feigned  look  of  surprise  at  Lehman. 

Then  Lehman,  assuming  a  sanctimonious  air, 
replied,  "Verily,  verily,  it  is  true.  Yes,  it  is 
true. ' ' 

"Then  I  will  never  give  my  consent,  much  less 
a  recommend,  for  them  to  marry;  further,  she 
must  marry  the  man  whom  the  Lord  has  intended 
and  set  apart  for  her." 

Then  turning  to  Zina,  he  said,  "By  the  way, 
my  love,  have  you  nothing  to  drink?"  Then 
taking  a  pinch  of  snuff,  he  continued,  "Ha!  ha! 
ha!  you  certainly  would  not  invite  two  brothers  in 
consultation  about  matters  of  this  kind  without 
giving  them  something  to  arouse  their  drooping 
spirits  and  especially  when  you  wanted  to  enlist 
them  in  your  cause?" 

"Well,  you  must  have  had  a  revelation,  too," 
said  Zina,  smiling  on  her  corporate  husband  in 
whom  she  had  one-twelfth  stock.  ' '  I  was  thought- 
ful enough  to  have  a  little  good  beer  on  hand  for 
this  occasion. ' ' 

So  saying,  she  tripped  out  of  the  room,  return- 
ing soon  with  a  large  tray  bearing  half  a  dozen 
bottles  of  beer,  glasses,  and  cork  screw. 

They  laying  aside  their  arduous  duties  for  a 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  75 

time,  Lehman  pulled  the  corks,  Zina  filled  the 
glasses;  all  drank  until  filled,  leaving  no  frag- 
ments. 

"Now,  let  us  return  to  business,"  said  Zina 
presently.  "You  understand  that  you  will  not 
have  an  opportunity  to  mention  this  matter  to 
them  until  they  ask  you  for  a  recommend,"  con- 
tinued Zina, 

"Well,  that  will  not  be  long,  I  trow;  and  in 
the  meantime  am  I  to  understand  that  we  all 
keep  silent?"  queried  Blatherskite. 

"No,  not  by  any  means,"  answered  Lehman. 
"We  have  got  to  win  two  others  to  our  side,  and 
the  whole  plan  must  be  laid  deep  in  order  to 
be  able  to  carry  it  out  as  we  desire,  yes,  as  -we 
desire.  The  two  I  have  reference  to  are  the 
president  of  this  stake  and  the  president  of  the 
church ;  and  when  the  revelations  are  mentioned 
to  them,  Adrian  and  Lola,  they  (the  revelations) 
must  be  as  coming  from  the  head  of  the  church-. " 

'*Now,  brethren,  just  leave  the  matter  of  getting 
the  two  presidents  and  proper  revelations  to  me, 
and  I  will  assure  you  of  their  services  and  sym- 
pathy, when  the  proper  time  comes;  but  in  the 
meantime  'silence  is  golden.'  I  may  have  said 
too  much  at  the  ball  the  other  night,  but  I  will 
amend  by  encouraging  them  and  their  friends. 
There  is  one  thing  that  must  be  understood,  it 
is  this;  if  Adrian  consents  to  enter  the  plurality 
and  treats  me  right,  he  is  to  have  Lola  as  a  sec-' 
ond,  even  in  the  face  of  your  revelation,  Brother 


76  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Lehman ;  for  we  must  win  them  and  their  fam- 
ilies to  the  holy  cause,  for  the  general  good  of  the 
church;  but  if  he  refuses  absolutely,  he  must 
not  be  allowed  the  girl,  no  matter  what  the  cost." 

These  remarks  of  Zina's  evidently  were  a  sur- 
prise to  Lehman.  He  sat  for  a  few  moments  in 
deep  thought,  nervously  pulling  at  his  long, 
grizzly  beard;  at  last  he  replied  with  a  firm 
voice, — 

' '  I  will  consent  to  all,  for  the  sake  of  my  church ; 
although  it  would  be  hard  under  any  circum- 
stance to  forego  the  supreme  pleasure  that 
would  come  from  the  fulfillment  of  my  revela- 
tion, yes,  my  revelation.  * ' 

The  thoughts  that  were  passing  through  his 
mind  were,  "If  Adrian  refuses  the  plurality,  the 
holy  priesthood  will  place  the  girl  in  my  hands 
according  to  my  revelation.  If  he  consents,  there 
will  be  a  way  provided  to  get  him  out  of  my 
way."  After  Lehman  had  fully  agreed  to  the 
plan,  as  marked  out  by  Zina,  Blatherskite  said, — ■ 

"Fix  it  as  you  please,  'hie,'  I  am  agreeable  to 
anything,  'hie, '  for  the  building  up  of  Zion,  'hie' !" 

"As  everything  has  been  fully  arranged,  now 
let  us  separate, "  said  Lehman.  Then  thoughtfully 
continuing,  he  said,  "Let  no  one  know  of  our 
plans  except  those  we  have  agreed  upon !  Yes, 
agreed  upon!" 

So  saying  he  arose  from  the  table,  when  Blath- 
erskite spoke  up, — 

"Hold!  'hie,'  let  us  take  a  little  nip  before  you, 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  77 

*hic,'  go,  and  I  will  go  a  short  way  with  you<, 
*  hie,'  as  I  am  going  to  stay  with  my  first  to-nigkt," 
said  Bishop  Blatherskite  arising  from  the  table. 
Zina  staggered  to  her  feet,  clutched  the  sleeve  of 
Blatherskite's  coat,  saying  incoherently, — 

"Not  much — stay  with  your  first — come  in  here 
— drink  my  good  beer — and  run  away  from  me 
Hke  that — "  Then  staggering  up  against  him  as 
she  grabbed  him  by  the  other  shoulder,  her  head 
swaggering  as  she  talked,  she  continued,  '*Not 
by  any  manner  of  means,  *old  boss.'  I  just 
guess  Zina  has  the  strings  on  you  this  time." 

She  then  turned  to  the  table,  poured  out  more 
beer  and  said, — 

"Here,  my  best  of  men,  drink  with  Zina." 

They  all  drank;  Lehman  started  to  go,  but 
instead  of  going  out  at  the  hall  door,  he  strayed 
into  Zina's  bed  chamber.  Here  they  all  had  a 
merry  laugh  over  the  mistake  the  divine  Lehman 
had  made.  The  other  two  assisted  him  to  the 
hall  door,  bade  him  good-night,  closed  the  door, 
and  Zina  had  her  bishop  safe  for  the  night. 
They  caroused  for  another  hour;  then  going  to 
bed  half-dressed,  fell  into  a  deep  sleep. 

On  reaching  the  fresh  air,  after  staggering  down 
the  stairs  and  through  the  hall,  Lehman  soon 
gained  his  head ;  his  step  became  more  firm,  and 
he  was  soon  able  to  think  rationally.  He  medi- 
tated on  everything  that  had  occurred  at  this 
meeting,  and  finally  said  to  himself, — 

**I  do  wonder  why  Sister  Zina  didn't  keep  all 


78  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

of  her  plans  in  harmony  with  my  revelation;  but 
whatever  her  motive  can  be  it  will  be  all  right  in 
the  end.  She"  is  such  a  brilliant  woman — a  most 
charming  entertainer,  and  the  best  worker  for  the 
upbuilding  of  Zion  in  the  whole  church.  But  I 
will  get  the  girl,  I  am  satisfied,  for  Adrian  will 
never  consent  to  making  her  a  second;  if  he 
should  chance  to  weaken  on  the  proposition,  I 
will  have  another  one  of  the  dignitaries  of  the 
priesthood  brace  him  up ;  but  my  hand  shall  not 
be  seen  on  either  side  of  the  question,  for  I  will 
swim  deep  beneath  the  surface.  At  all  events 
the  girl  shall  be  mine,  yes,  shall  be  mine." 

It  was  the  custom  of  Bishop  Lehman  to  repeat 
his  closing  words  with  a  *'yes"  prefix,  when  he 
was  very  much  in  earnest  and  wished  to  make  his 
words  impressive. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"The  path  of  sorrow,  and  that  path  alone, 
Leads  to  the  land  where  sorrow  is  unknown ; 
No  traveler  ever  reached  that  blessed  abode. 
Who  found  not  thorns  and  briers  on  his  road." 

— William  Cowper. 

The  sun  was  shining  brightly  when  James 
awoke  the  next  morning.  He  was  much  surprised 
to  note  the  fact,  and  that  his  mother  had  not  called 
him  as  usual.  It  had  been  a  long-established 
custom  of  hers,  when  her  health  permitted,  that 
the  sun  should  not  rise  and  find  her  in  bed.  She 
always  called  him  promptly  with  the  rising  of  the 
sun.  The  first  thought  on  awakening  was  that 
his  mother  must  be  ill.  He  arose,  dressed  him- 
self hurriedly,  and  stepped  into  his  mother's 
chamber. 

She  was  lying  diagonally  across  the  bed,  in  the 
same  dress  she  had  worn  the  evening  before,  cold 
and  still  in  death's  embrace.  He  was  at  her  side 
in  an  instant;  and  as  he  lay  his  hand  gently  on 
her  brow,  he  gave  vent  to  his  soul's  deepest 
anguish,  as  he  shrieked,  *'0  heavens,  my  poor 
mother  I " 

His  agonizing  cry  aroused  all  the  house.  He 
staggered  to  the  door,  gasping  for  breath.  The 
blow  had  almost  taken  his  life  away.  On  open- 
ing the  door,  he  was  met  by  David.  "O  David, 
my  poor  mother  is  dead!  Where  is  father?"  he 
said.       David  hurried  to  find  his  father ;  and  the 

79 


bo  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

hall  was  soon  filled  with  excited  women  and  chil- 
dren, rushing  toward  Rhoda's  bed  chamber.  All 
were  anxious  to  learn  the  facts  connected  with 
this  strange  coincidence.  Her  sudden  death, 
almost  contemporaneous  with  her  first  resistance, 
and  the  stinging  rebuke  administered  to  Zina, 
filled  all  with  the  idea  that  murder,  foul  murder, 
had  been  committed  under  their  roof,  while  the 
inmates  were  wrapped  in  slumber.  Every  sus- 
picion involuntarily  turned  to  Zina  as  the  per- 
petrator; but  as  they  swarmed  into  the  room, 
James  was  bending  over  his  mother,  when  he 
uttered  these  words,  "My  poor  unhappy  mother; 
you  were  so  good,  yet  you  had  to  die  of  a  broken 
heart. ' ' 

At  this  moment  Zina  appeared  on  the  scene, 
white  with  rage,  as  she  had  heard  some  one  say 
in  the  hall  while  she  was  hurriedly  dressing,  "I 
guess  Zina  has  killed  her. "  She  failed  to  recog- 
nize the  voice  in  her  excitement,  therefore,  she 
could  not  take  any  particular  person  to  task  about 
it;  and  seeing  the  intense  grief  of  Rhoda's  chil- 
dren, she  tried  to  smother  her  anger,  affecting 
great  grief.  The. bishop  came  in  at  this  juncture, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  years  was  greatly  moved ; 
not  so  much  at  the  loss  of  Rhoda  as  for  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  had  treated  her  for  *the  last  few 
years,  and  the  many  promises  he  had  broken. 

"I  did  not  know  she  took  things  to  heart  so 
much,"  he  said,  presently. 

"Father,"  said  James,  "I  could  have  told  you, 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  8l 

years  ago,  that  this  infernal  polygamy  business 
would  kill  her." 

"My  dear  son,  do  not  call  this  sacred  practice 
'infernal  business.'  It  is  certainly  a  divine  prin- 
ciple. ' ' 

*' Principle?  there  is  no  principle  about  it.       It  ^ 
is  as  rotten  as  carrion  a  week  old  in  August,  with 
maggots  oozing  at  every  pore,   and  those   who 
uphold  it  are  worse." 

"O  bishop!"  said  Zina,  "I  do  not  like  to  crit- 
icise at  this  time;  but  if  I  were  you,  I'd  teach 
that  young  braying  ass  how  to  talk.  I'd  make 
him  cease  his  braying  about  things  he  knows  not 
of.  See  the  intense  horror  written  upon  each  of 
your  loving  wives'  faces.  If  you  don't  protect 
them  against  such  infamous  attacks,  you  are. 
wholly  unworthy  of  them." 

"Yes,  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about,"  said 
James  furiously,  "and  I  have  reached  the  point 
when  I  cannot  keep  quiet  longer.  My  poor 
mother  was  driven  to  her  death  by  you  and  your 
allies.  My  father  gave  her  his  solemn  pledge 
before  they  were  married  that  she  should  be  his 
only  wife  while  she  lived.  She  would  never  have 
married  him,  under  any  circumstances,  if  she 
had  had  the  slightest  idea  that  he  would  ever 
have  broken  his  sacred  vow.  I  have  heard  these 
words  from  her  own  lips;  and  those  lips,  now 
cold  in  death,  never  uttered  falsehood.  He  dare 
not  deny  it,  the  remembrance  of  that  pale  face 
(pointing  to  his  dead  mother)  would  haunt  him, 


82  ^  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

at  every  stage  of  his  future  existence  if  he  did. 
Yet  within  a  few  years  he  had  broken  that  vow 
eleven  times,  thus  reaching  the  zenith  of  his  in- 
famy and  her  punishment.  I  wonder  that  she, 
with  her  pure  heart  and  high  sense  of  honor,  did 
not  die  long  years  ago,  under  this  torture.  I  say 
to  you  all,  that  I  am  desperate,  and  it  will  be 
well  for  you  if  you  soothe  rather  than  inflame ; 
for  a  friction  may  beget  a  spark — a  spark,  a  flame 
— a  flame,  a  conflagration.  The  men  who  resur- 
rected and  re-established  this  barbarian  practice, 
in  this  civilized  and  enlightened  age,  should  have 
been  hung  higher  than  Haman  before  they  had 
contaminated  so  many  beings  with  this  diabolical 
doctrine;  and  the  detestable  women  who  advo- 
cate such  licentiousness  should  have  infamy 
branded  on  each  satanic  forehead." 

He  paused;  not  a  word  was  spoken  in  reply. 
While  Zina  was  making  her  plea  to  the  bisliDp, 
James  had  gone  into  his  room,  buckled  his  belt 
with  a  brace  of  revolvers  around  his  waist,  and 
returned  just  as  she  closed ;  but  he  had  heard  all 
that  she  had  said.     Continuing,  he  said, — 

*'I  heard  words  of  disrespect  and  vile  threats 
against  her  last  evening.  Then  she  was  alive; 
now  her  lifeless  form  is  before  us.  Her  children 
are  grief  stricken,  almost  to  despair.  Our  feel- 
ings must  be  respected.  One  disrespectful  word 
of  her,  or  of  her  belief,  or' a  word  in  praise  of  that 
which  she  most  despised,  polygamy,  while  in  the 
presence  of  her  remains,  and,  as  sure  as  there  is 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  83 

a  God  in  heaven,  I  will  send  a  ball  through  the 
hearts  of  just  ten  women  of  this  harem,  leaving 
my  father  with  one,  as  he  should  have  always 
lived;  and  you,  Zina,  will  get  the  first  ball." 

A  death-like  silence  fell  upon  the  scene.  The 
terrified  women  held  their  breath  in  horror,  fear- 
ing that  some  act,  some  look,  some  word  or  deed 
might  occur  to  cause  the  desperate  boy  to  carry 
his  terrible  threat  into  execution.  Presently  the 
father  broke  the  silence  saying, — 

'* James!  James!  I,  too,  am  grief-stricken, 
almost  beyond  endurance.  God  knows  that  I 
never  intended  to  be  cruel  and  oppressive  to  your 
mother.  In  answer  to  you,  I  say  that  all  shall 
show  her  due  regard.  Now  let  us  join  in  family 
prayer. ' ' 

This  was  the  wisest  act  of  the  bishop's  life,  for 
James  had  learned  at  his  mother's  knee  to  rever- 
ence the  time  of  prayer,  under  every  circum- 
stance ;  and  the  bishop,  for  once,  prayed  in  ear- 
nest, as  if  life  depended  upon  it.  This  earnest 
prayer  had  the  effect  to  soothe  James,  to  some 
extent.  The  bishop  arose  from  prayer,  wiped 
his  streaming  eyes;  then  turning  to  David  said, 
*'Go,  my  son,  as  soon  as  possible  for  the  under- 
taker and  Rhoda's  friends;  all  must  do  honor  to 
the  good  Rhoda  who,  1  acknowledge,  deserves  the 
greatest  reverence. ' ' 

David  had  witnessed  the  wild  and  desperate 
demonstrations  of  James  in  silence ;  for  he  was  a 
true  friend  to  James,  and  felt  that  he  had  good 
cause  for  all  that  he  had  said  and  done. 


84  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Zina  was  wrought  up  to  the  highest  stage  of 
frenzy,  as  she  swaggered  into  her  bed  chamber. 
The  rest  of  the  women  of  the  harem  followed  her 
to  her  lair,  to  see  what  her  wise  brain  would  coin 
from  what  James  had  said.  They  were  all  deeply 
gratified  that  Rhoda  was  out  of  the  way;  and, 
when  they  were  in  Zina's  room,  with  doors  closed 
between  them  and  the  enraged  boy,  they  felt  no 
restraint  in  revealing  the  true  sentiments  of  their 
hearts.  Here  Zina  unbosomed  her  wrath — 
"While  that  imp  of  hell  roams  free,  we  will  be 
compelled  to  suppress  our  Christian  spirits ;  but, 
before  the  sun  sinks  many  times  behind  yon 
western  hills,  beyond  the  lake,  his  life  shall  pay 
the  penalty.  He  little  realized  the  danger  of 
threatening  my  sacred  life.  I,  the  president  of 
the  Ladies'  quorum  of  the  holy  priesthood,  leader 
of  the  Sunday  schools  of  this  stake  of  Zion !  I, 
also,  hold  the  key  to  the  hearts  of  our  sacred 
Danite  band,  who  were  ordained  by  our  holy 
priesthood  as  destroying  angels;  and  as  such, 
covered  themselves  with  glory  at  Mountain 
Meadow,  when  they  destroyed  those  ungodly 
Gentiles.  Ah!  my  dear  sisters,  think  what  this 
3^oung  fiend  of  Rhoda' s  has  said.  Has  he  not 
but  echoed  the  wicked  sentiments  of  her?  If  so, 
why  should  he  not  follow  her?  All  of  you,  who 
feel  that  this  unbelieving  wretch  should  not 
menace  our  lives  by  remaining  in  our  sacred 
family,  will  raise  your  hands?" 

She  paused;  her  will  was  indicated  to  them. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  8|5 

Responsive  to  the  call,  each  hand  went  up. 
Then,  with  a  look  of  vain  satisfaction  depicted  in 
her  countenance,  she  said, — 

"My  beloved  sisters,  I  am  deeply  gratified  to 
know  that  your  verdict  is  unanimous;  and  a 
more  just  decision  never  came,  even  from  our 
holy  prophet.  It  shall  be  carried  into  execution. 
I  will  go  to  Zion  in  person  in  company  with 
President  Bodenheimer,  as  s?)on  as  Rhoda  is  in 
the  ground,  where  she  ought  to  have  been  long 
before  she  sowed  seed  of  discord  and  strife,  and 
we  will  have  a  conference  with  the  higher  powers; 
and,  when  our  sacred  plans  are  carried  out,  James 
will  have  been  saved  by  the  power  of  his  own 
atoning  blood.  And  we  know  that  all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,  to 
them  who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose !" 

James  was  an  exemplary  young  man,  and  had 
been  thoroughly  devoted  to  his  mother.  He  was 
as  mild  and  gentle  as  a  lamb,  in  peace,  slow  to 
anger;  but,  when  thoroughly  aroused,  was  as 
dangerous  as  a  lion.  During  the  past  few  years 
his  experience  as  a  herder  had  made  him  a  bold 
rider  and  a  skilled  marksman.  He  had  encount- 
ered, at  different  times,  the  ferocious  wild  beasts 
that  made  their  appearance  in  his  herds ;  but  his 
skilled  marksmanship  and  undaunted  courage 
always  made  him  victor  of  the  combat.  The 
members  of  the  household  understood  these  qual- 
ities well ;  hence  the  apparent  tranquillity  which 
prevailed  until  his  mother  was  laid  in  her  last 


86  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

resting  place.  Alas !  James  had  made  an  unfor- 
tunate talk  for  himself.  Where  the  powers  of  the 
infernal  regions  have  full  sway,  he,  who  dares  to 
assert  his  manhood  and  reveal  the  purity  of  his 
heart,  even  in  the  presence  of  his  dead  mother, 
and  under  the  pressure  of  grief  which  reaches  the 
stage  of  despair,  is  marked  as  a  prey  on  which 
the  vultures  of  that  black  region  may  feast. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  funeral  services  of  Rhoda  took  place  at  the 
Third  ward  meeting-house,  at  two  o'clock,  the 
Tuesday  afternoon  following  her  death.  A  great 
concourse  of  people  came  together;  some, 
through  sympathy  and  respect;  but  the  greater 
number,  out  of  curiosity  to  note  the  conduct  of 
the  other  wives  of  the  bishop  on  this  occasion, 
knowing  the  intense  hatred  that  they  had  had  for 
Rhoda  during  her  life,  and  also,  to  take  the  last 
look  at  her  who  had  strength  of  character  suffi- 
cient to  stand  up  against  twenty  years'  of  intense 
suffering  from  a  polygamous  relation.  This  in- 
famous condition  had  filled  her  home  to  overflow- 
ing with  women  and  children,  had  forced  her  to 
pass  the  years  of  married  life  in  sorrow  and  neg- 
lect, and  had  finally  sapped  her  life  away.  Among 
the  true  friends  of  Rhoda  and  her  children,  were 
the  Allison  and  Waltham  families.  Mrs.  Waltham 
and  Mrs.  Allison  had  been  her  confidential 
friends  and  had  greatly  sympathized  with  Rhoda 
in  her  trials;  and  they  now  felt  that  all  that  was 
crood  and  true  of  the  Blatherskite  family,  except 
the  children  of  Rhoda,  had  passed  to  the  great 
beyond.  These  two  families,  together  with 
James,  Evelyn  and  Lily,  constituted  the  little 
group  of  real  mourners. 

At  the  services  President  Bodenheimer  opened 
with  prayer.       He  earnestly  prayed  to  the  Lord 

87 


88  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  forgive  her  one  and  only  sin  and  that  the  hus- 
band might  be  comforted,  beseeching  Him  also 
to  throw  His  loving  and  protecting  arms  around 
the  grief-stricken  children. 

By  request  of  her  children  the  choir  sang  her 
favorite  hymn,  *'Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul."  Oft 
had  their  childish  voices  joined  with  hers  in 
singing  this  sweet  hymn,  after  their  evening 
prayer.  They  remembered  now  the  tremor  in 
her  voice  and  the  unbidden  tears  that  fell,  when 
singing  these  lines, — 

"All  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stayed, 
All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring; 
Cover  my  defenseless  head 
With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing." 

The  funeral  speeches,  or  disconnected  remarks, 
were  made  by  Philander  Lintle,  David  Bronson 
and  Bishop  Francis  Lehman.  The  latter  closed 
by  saying, — 

*'I  have  not  been  very  well  acquainted  with 
Sister  Rhoda,  owing  to  her  secluded  life;  but 
we  all  earnestly  pray  that  the  Lord  will  forgive 
her  only  sin,  murmuring  against  His  will.  I  am 
so  deeply  interested  in  the  salvation  of  her  soul, 
that  I  will  go  to  the  Temple,  myself,  and  be  bap- 
tized for  the  remission  of  that  sin,  that  Sister 
Rhoda  may  stand  among  the  Saints  in  heaven." 

The  choir  sang  another  song;  then  the  time 
came  to  take  the  last  look  at  her  remains.  Her 
burial  robe,  according  to  the  usual  Mormon  cus- 
tom, consisted  of  a  white  linen  shroud,  with  a 
small  light  green  silk  apron,  and  a  close-fitting. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  89 

square- crowned  linen  cap.  The  only  color  inside 
the  casket,  aside  from  the  apron  representing  the 
fig  leaves,  was  a  spray  of  green  leaves  lying 
beneath  a  pure  white  lily  which  Evelyn  had 
placed  over  her  mother's  heart. 

The  crowd  viewed  the  remains  and  passed  on; 
then  came  the  wives  of  the  bishop  and  their  chil- 
dren; and,  lastly,  Rhoda's  three  children  and 
their  father. 

Evelyn  was  holding  to  James,  her  whole  frame 
convulsed  with  agony.  Lily  was  standing  a 
short  distance  from  them,  her  face  deathly  pale, 
and  her  eyes  staring  vacantly.  The  father  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  casket  apparently  much  affected. 
James  and  Evelyn  mingled  their  bitter  tears,  as 
Evelyn  repeated,  *'0,  my  sainted  mother!  'tis  so 
hard  to  give  you  up.  Life  will  be  such  a  burden 
without  you,  my  angel  mother!"  No  one  had 
taken  much  notice  of  Lily,  till  the  poor  girl  gave 
a  death-like  groan  and  fell  almost  to  the  floor. 
Mrs.  Allison,  standing  near,  caught  the  fainting 
child  in  her  arms  and  sat  down  with  her  on  the 
nearest  seat,  while  Mrs.  Waltham  went  for  a 
glass  of  water.  Lola  went  to  Evelyn's  side  and 
putting  her  arms  gently  around  her  true  friend, 
tried  to  console  her.  Mr.  Waltham  came  to 
James  and,  taking  his  arm,  they  all  stepped  back; 
the  casket  was  closed ;  and  the  face  of  that  dear 
mother  was  shut  from  view  forever.  During  this 
pathetic  scene  the  congregation,  including  the 
bishop's  wives  and  most  of  the  children,  had  left 
the  building,  evidently  very  little  concerned. 


'^O  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Rhoda's  children  realized  that,  in  the  death  of 
theirmother,  they  had  lost  their  only  stay  in  life. 
To  children  in  general,  the  loss  of  a  mother  is 
indeed,  a  severe  blow;  but  to  be  deprived  of  a 
mother  and  to  know,  at  the  same  time,  that  they 
are  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  eleven  harlots  as 
step-mothers — each  to  dictate  and  hector  over 
them — is  truly  a  dismal  thought;  and  before 
this  group  of  children,  a  dark  and  desolate  future 
yawned,  into  which  they  dared  not  look,  but  from 
which  they  could  not  turn. 

Rhoda  and  her  children  had  been  a  family  ex- 
clusive to  themselves.  They  were  compelled  to 
keep  their  own  counsel,  have  their  own  worship; 
and,  in  fact,  everything  that  was  sacred  to  them 
was  confined  within  the  limits  of  their  private 
rooms.  Now  that  mother  was  gone ;  they  dreaded 
the  very  thoughts  of  going  home  to  the  empty 
and  silent  chamber,  where  she  had  instilled  into 
their  very  souls  the  teaching  of  the  Saviour, 
instead  of  that  of  Joseph  and  Brigham.  She  had 
taught  them  there  that  one  wife  is  all  that  God, 
in  His  infinite  wisdom,  designs  for  -  man ;  had 
pointed  to  the  pure  example  given  by  Him,  before 
sin  and  sorrow  came  into  the  world,  when  He 
placed  Adam  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  gave  one 
wife  as  a  help-meet,  one  pure  woman  in  the  per- 
son of  Mother  Eve. 

This  little  band  of  mourners  followed  the  re- 
mains of  this  good  mother  to  the  cemetery,  one- 
half  mile  southeast  of  town,  where,  in  a  beautiful 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  9I 

Spot  she  was  laid  to  rest.  Her  children  planted 
a  weeping  willow  at  the  head  of  the  grave,  the 
only  mark  to  indicate  the  sacred  spot  where  rests 
this  sainted  mother. 


CHAPTER  X. 

For  three  years  Martin  Bodenheimer  had  paid 
his  undivided  attention  to  Mary  Hildreth.  He 
and  his  companion,  John  Westmeland,  were  mak- 
ing their  final  preparations  to  start  on  their  mis- 
sion. Even  the  ball  in  honor  of  their  departure 
had  been  given.  Six  months  prior  to  this  event, 
Martin  had,  under  a  solemn  promise  of  matri- 
mony, betrayed  Mary ;  and  she  was  now  suffering 
the  terrible  consequences  of  their  sin. 

Mary  was  a  pretty  girl  and  worthy  of  Martin 
in  every  respect ;  but  Martin,  after  deceiving  her, 
shrank  from  his  promise  and  evaded  her.  He 
was  seeking  to  get  away  on  a  two  years'  mission 
— away  from  his  crime  in  a  foreign  land — and  to 
leave  the  burden  of  shame  upon  her.  True  to  his 
base  instincts,  his  heart  had  grown  cold  toward 
his  victim.  She  had  written  to  him  and  plead 
with  him  to  fulfill  his  promise,  before  her  dis- 
grace came  to  the  knowledge  of  her  parents,  and 
especially  before  his  departure.  She  had  come 
to  the  Garden  City,  apparently  to  attend  the  ball ; 
but,  in  reality,  it  was  to  make  the  last  fight  for 
her  good  name.  Zina,  designing  to  please  Mar- 
tin, had  placed  Mary  on  the  reception  committee 
with  him. 

She  stopped  at  President  Bodenheimer's,  osten- 
sibly to  visit  Electa,  but,  in  order  to  force  an  in- 

92 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  93 

terview  with  Martin,  before  going  to  the  party. 
He  had  studiously  avoided  her,  for  months;  and 
now  she  must  come  into  his  presence  and  be  in 
his  company  alone,  in  order  to  let  him  know  all 
her  sufferings  and  persuade  him,  if  possible,  to 
marry  her.  She  planned  a  walk  before  the  dance 
and  requested  Electa,  who  was  going  to  accompany 
them,  to  allow  herself  and  Martin  to  go  alone. 
They  strolled  far  to  the  north  until  coming  to 
the  river.  For  a  time  they  walked  silently  along, 
when  Mary  broke  the  silence  by  saying, — 

"Martin,  when  are  you  going  to  fulfill  your 
promise?" 

**I  do  not  know,  Mary." 

**It  is  growing  near  the  time  when  you  are  to 
leave  for  a  two  years'  mission.  Your  answer 
should  not  be,  at  thi»  time,  that  you  do  not  know. 
You  cannot  have  forgotten  your  promise  tome? 
Ah!  Martin,  I  thought  your  every  word  was 
true,  or  my  heart  would  not  be  breaking  to-day. ' ' 

**My  dear  Mary,  is  this  the  reason  why  you- 
wanted  me  to  take  this  walk  with  you?  Are  you 
desirous  of  diverting  my  attention  from  this 
evening's  pleasures  and  of  causing  deep  regrets 
for  the  past,  to  come  to  my  already  unhappy 
mind?     I  think  we  had  better  turn  back." 

*'We  shall  not  turn  back  until  you  have  heard 
what  I  have  to  say.  You  must  know  that  my  life 
depends  upon  your  actions — you  whom  I  have 
almost  worshiped  —  you  whom  I  have  loved 
in   my    dreams    and     thought    mine,    only    to 


94.  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

awaketo  S94  disappQintment— you  who;^;  I  h^ye 
dearly  loved,  from  the  day  I.  first  met  you,  and, 
uppn  whose  solemn  promise,  I  gave  that  which  is 
dearer  than  life  to  woman.  Now,  when  it  is  too 
late  to  retrace  my  steps,  can  it  be  possible  that 
you  contemplate,  for  one  moment,  the  destruction, 
of  my  life,  by  deserting  me  and  leaving  me  alqn^. 
to  suffer  our  terrible  mistake?  O !  Martin,  I  pray- 
that  yo^  will  not  treat  me  thus,  but.  keep , your 
vow.  to  me;  for  the  love  of  honor,  be  true  to  your; 
promise — that  promise  you  matle  me,  one  beauti- 
ful evening,  under  the  gleam  of  yon  pale  rnoon, 
as  she  peeped  over  the  mountain  tops — then.it 
was  that  you  swore  by  the  holy  prophet  to  be  true 
tome.  O,  Martin!  dear  Martin!  save  me  frpm 
that  dark  abyss,  the  depths  of  which  my  eyes  can- 
not penetrate  and  into  which  I^dare  not  look,  lest 
it  dethrones  my  reason." 

"Permit  me  to  say  one  word,  Mary." 
"Say  the  word,  Martin;  that  is  what  I  want.'' 
."Well,  against  we  get  to  the  party,  it  will  lack- 
but  a  few  minutes  of  the  time  I  promised  Sister 
Zina  we  would  be  there.  Please  allow  this  mat- 
ter to  pass  for  this  evening  and,  if  you  will  loqk^^ 
at  your  best,  I  will  give  you  my  answer  to-morrow, 
evening. ' ' 

"With  all  my  heart  I  grant  your  request;  there 
is  nothing  in  this  wide  world  that  is  within  my 
power,  I  would  not  do  for  you;  but,  Martin,  you 
ought  not  to  defer  action  longer.  In  ten  days 
youj  will  6,epa.vt  on  your  mission  of  work  for  tUe 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  95. 

Lord;  we  have  but  a  little  time  to  act;  besides, 
I  do  not  quite  understand  what  you  mean  when 
you  speak  of  my  looking  'at  my  best' ;  but,  if  it 
will  add  to  your  pleasure,  I  promise  you  that  all 
in  my  power  shall  be  done  without  direction." 

The  dance  over,  the  Bodenheimers  went  home 
together,  hence  she  had  no  other  opportunity  to 
have  a  private  conversation  with  Martin.  She 
had  made  a  desperate  struggle  to  hide  her  grief 
and  appear  happy;  but,  at  times,  her  outraged 
feelings  would  almost  overcome  her  self-posses- 
sion. 

Next  morning  she  went  to  visit  other  friends 
and  returned  to  President  Bodenheimer's  for  the 
night,  hoping  to  receive  Martin's  answer.  But 
alas!  he  did  not  appear.  Her  feelings  gave  way 
under  the  heavy  load.  She  could  not  sleep,  but 
walked  the  floor  and  wept  bitterly  until  dawn. 
She  fully  resolved  to  bring  her  troubles  before 
Martin's  father.  President  Bodenheimer;  and  if 
he  could  not  or  would  not  bring  about  justice,  to 
call  her  father  into  the  dreadful  secret. 

All  were  shocked  to  note  her  changed  and  sor- 
rowful appearance  the  next  morning.  She  made 
arrangements  with  President  Bodenheimer  for  an 
early  meeting,  at  which  she  laid  before  him  all  of 
her  troubles.     She  then  said : — 

"I  now  ask  you,  as  my  divine  leader,  and,  as 
his  father,  to  use  every  effort  to  force  Martin  to 
do  justice  by  me." 

Bodenheimer  went  and  held  a  close  conversa- 


$6        ^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

tion  with  Martin ;  he  then  returned  to  his  office 
where  Mary  was  still  waiting.  On  entering  the 
office,  with  a  solemn  and  determined  expression, 
he  sat  down  in  front  of  the  girl  and  said, — 

"It  certainly  cannot  be  true  as  you  have  related. 
On  strict  examination  and  close  questioning,  my 
son  emphatically  denies  every  charge  and  says 
his  relations  with  you  have  been  that  only  of  a 
good  friend,  and  that  you  are  now  trying  to  throw 
this  responsible  burden  of  shame  on  his  shoulders 
and  thus  drag  him  down  when  he  is  innocent. 
If  your  charges  against  him  were  true,  there  is 
no  time  now  for  him  to  marry,  as  it  would  greatly 
interfere  with  the  work  of  the  Lord ;  for  Martin 
declares  that  he  will  not  go  on  the  mission  if  he  is 
forced  to  marry  you.  Now,  Mary,  if  you  are 
simply  seeking  some  one  to  marry  you,  and  thus 
hide  your  shame,  I  think  I  can  find  you  a  man ; 
but  the  work  of  the  Lord  must  not  be  interfered 
with ;  Martin  must  go  on  the  mission. ' ' 

Such  an  ultimatum,  coming  from  Martin's 
father,  the  president  of  the  stake  in  which  she 
held  her  membership,  completely  overwhelmed 
her.  She  wrung  her  hands  and  wept ;  she  plead 
for  mercy ;  then,  on  bended  knees,  she  begged  for 
a  meeting  with  Martin  in  his  presence — anything 
for  justice  and  to  relieve  her  wretched  condition 
— but  all  to  no  avail. 

She  ordered  her  carriage  at  once  and  was  driven 
home,  where  she  laid  the  whole  matter  before  her 
parents. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  97 

After  hearing  all,  her  parents  were  determined 
to  force  Martin  to  marry  her  or  bring  the  whole 
matter  into  the  United  States  courts,  by  having 
Mary  sue  Martin  for  twenty  thousand  dollars  for 
breach  of  promise.  This  was  the  first  time  that 
a  Saint,  in  good  standing,  ever  recognized  the 
courts  of  the  United  States,  in  any  way,  which 
were  beginning  to  have  a  footing,  even  in  Utah. 

Bishop  Hildreth  took  Mary  and  her  mother  and 
started  at  once  for  Provo,  arriving  there  late  in 
the  evening,  after  Martin  had  preached  in  the 
afternoon. 

They  stopped  at  the  home  of  Bodenheimer  and 
demanded  an  interview,  which  was  granted.  This 
meeting  was  carried  far  into  the  night,  when  it 
was  finally  determined  that  they  should  meet  the 
next  afternoon  (Monday),  at  which  time  Martin 
and  his  mother  also  should  be  present ;  and  then 
they  would  try  hard  to  settle  matters  among 
themselves,  without  going  to  the  ''ungodly  Gentile 
courts." 

Just  before  day,  the  next  morning,  Boden- 
heimer started  a  trusty  servant  to  Zion  with  a 
message  to  the  prophet  under  strict  orders  of 
secrecy.  He  had  spent  the  remainder  of  the  night 
after  the  Hildreths  had  gone  to  the  hotel,  writing 
to  the  prophet,  fully  explaining  to  him  the  whole 
trouble,  urging  upon  the  chief  to  come  in  person 
and  help  them  out  of  the  difficulty,  adding  that  it 
would  require  a  revelation  to  accomplish  the  de- 
sired end. 

7 


98  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

I'hey  met,  according  to  agreement,  at  the  office 
of  President  Bodenheimer.  All  expressed  their 
surprise  at  the  sudden  death  of  Rhoda,  the  first 
wife  of  the  good  bishop,  Blatherskite.  Then, 
turning  to  the  business  of  their  meeting,  each  side 
argued  from  his  standpoint  the  way  to  right  the 
wrong.  The  stormy  meeting  of  the  two  families 
was  still  in  session  at  eight  o'clock,  the  hour 
Bodenheimer's  messenger  returned  from  Zion. 
He  returned  as  secretly  as  he  had  gone.  Boden- 
heimer went  into  another  room  to  meet  him; 
again  warning  him  about  the  strictest  secrecy 
concerning  his  trip,  he  excused  him.  He  hastily 
broke  the  seal  and  read  the  contents  intended  for 
him,  which  ran  about  as  follows:  "I  will  be  here 
Wednesday,  at  two  o'clock,  p.  m.  Arrange  a 
meeting  for  that  hour;  enclosed  you  will  find  a 
letter  to  Brother  Hyrum  Nolby,  of  Springville. 
Go  in  person,  and  in  the  dark,  and  deliver  this 
note  to  him ;  say  not  a  word  to  any  living  soul 
but  Hyrum,  and  tell  him  that  our  movements 
must  not  be  known  of  men.  Do  this,  and  I  will 
do  the  rest." 

Bodenheimer  returned  to  his  office  and  said, — 
"My  good  Brother  Hildreth,  you  know,  as  well 
as  I,  that  we  ought  to  be  guided  in  all  our  troubles 
by  the  hand  of  prophecy,  if  such  can  be  received. 
I  have  earnestly  prayed  to  heaven  for  light,  and 
this  plan  has  just  been  revealed  to  me.  The 
vision  said,  *  Arrange  a  meeting  on  Wednesday 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  time  I 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  99 

will  cause  my  prophet  to  appear  with  a  solution 
to  this  whole  trouble;  until  then,  talk  not  of  this 
matter,  as  I  will  establish  justice,  and  bring  peace 
to  my  people,  who  are  workers  in  Israel.  I  will 
soothe  every  heart  and  see  that  right  pre  vails.  * ' 

**Is  this  as  the  Lord  hath  spoken?"  queried 
Brother  Hildreth. 

*'Yea,  verily  it  is,  as  I  live,  revealed  to  me, 
within  this  hour  while  on  bended  knees,  I  did  ask 
the  right.  We  can  do  nothing  further  to-night, 
except  to  arrange  for  the  meeting  and  make  our 
promises.  Come  with  your  wife  and  daughter 
to-morrow  morning,  and  stay  in  my  household 
until  after  the  meeting.  If  the  prophet  does  not 
appear  my  son  shall  marry  Mary  at  once ,  but.  if 
so  be  it,  that  he  comes,  let  all  abide  by  the  will 
of  the  Most  High;  and,  as  proof  positive,  to  each 
other,  that  we  will  stand  by  the  will  of  the  Lord. 
let  us  join  hands  and  form  the  holy  prayer  circle, 
thus  forming  the  union  between  our  hearts ;  then 
bow  upon  our  knees  and  promise  high  heaven 
that  we  will  obey  the  divine  will,  as  shall  be 
revealed  through  our  holy  prophet,  let  come  what 
will" 

"I  here  agp'ee  to  all,  do  you  agree  Mary?"  said 
Hildreth. 

"I  do  father,  provided  Martin  also  agrees  to  be 
directed  by  the  holy  revelation ;  for  I  know  that 
the  heavenly  powers  are  just. " 

*'I  have  been  selected,  through  revelation,  as 
one  of  the  Lord's  disciples  to  bear  his  Gospel  to 


lOO  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

foreign  lands ;  to  refuse  to  stand  by  his  holy  rev- 
elations would  be  to  prove  myself  wholly  un- 
worthy to  bear  his  mission;  therefore,  to  prove 
my  honesty  of  purpose,  I  here  agree  and  join 
hands  with  Mary,  while  we  kneel  within  the  holy 
circle,  having  implicit  confidence  in  the  justice  of 
my  cause." 

The  mothers  agreeing,  all  knelt  while  Boden- 
heimer  prayed;  then,  while  yet  in  that  solemn 
position,  each  pledged  himself  to  secrecy,  con- 
cerning this  and  the  meeting  agreed  upon ;  still 
kneeling  all  repeated  in  concert,  after  Boden- 
heimer,  the  following  • — 

*'I  furthermore  promise  that  I  will  attend  the 
sacred  meeting,  as  arranged  by  revelation,  at  this 
time,  and  abide  by  the  decision  in  reference  to 
our  differences,  as  shall  be  directed  by  our  blessed 
prophet. " 

The  circle  arose ;  Hildreth,  wife  and  daughter, 
went  to  their  place  of  lodging;  Bodenheimer's 
family  retired.  As  soon  as  the  Hildreths  were 
gone  and  his  family  asleep,  Bodenheimer  hitched 
his  horse  to  his  buggy  and  an  hour  later,  was 
rapping  at  the  door  of  Hyrum  Nolby's  house. 
On  learning  who  was  at  the  door,  Nolby  hur- 
riedly dressed  and  welcomed  the  president  of  the 
stake,  into  his  parlor ;  knowing  that  some  secret 
work  was  up,  he  closed  all  the  doors  to  the  room, 
pulled  down  the  blind  to  each  Window,  turned  the 
lamp  low  and  then  asked,  in  a  low  breath, — 

*'What  wilt  thou,  my  holy  leader?" 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  lOI 

**I  have  a  letter  for  you — open  it  at  once  and 
read  its  contents  to  me. ' ' 

The  letter  read,  they  held  a  hurried  consulta- 
tion, that  Hyrum  might  understand  fully  the 
whole  field  of  action.     Then  Hyrum  said. — 

"Have  no  fear,  Brother  Bodenheimer;  I  will 
happen  at  the  meeting,  promptly,  at  a  quarter 
past  two.  I  will  play  my  part  to  the  dot — I  will, 
by  h — 1 —  especially  when  it  involves  the  bestow- 
ing upon  me  of  another  young,  sweet,  voluptuous 
girl,  and  at  the  same  time,  relieving  a  young 
brother  who  is  to  work  in  our  sacred  mission  field. 
By  h — 1,  the  thought  is  inspiring." 

With  this,  they  parted. 

Hyrum  Nolby  was  a  man  ever  ready  to  receive 
the  revelations  of  the  priesthood,  in  all  things, 
even  to  the  shedding  of  blood  as  an  atonement. 
By  reason  of  his  obedience  he  was  entrusted  with 
some  important  responsibilities,  to  wit:  He  had 
been  mayor  of  the  city  of  Springville  twice,  he 
also  participated  as  leader  of  the  gang,  who, 
while  acting  under  the  instructions  of  the  prayer 
circle,  offered  up  old  man  Parrish  and  his  tUx)  sb'ns, 
at  Springville,  on  the  first  day  of  March,  1857, 
as  a  blood  atonement  for  the  terrible  sin  of 
having  grown  cold  in  the  faith. 

Bodenheimer  had  instructed  Martin,  prior  to 
the  meeting  with  the  Hildreths,  to  agree  to  every- 
thing that  he  (Bodenheimer)  should  propose  in  the 
meeting ;  promising  that  if  he  did  so,  he,  as  presi- 
dent of  this  stake  of  Zion,  would  release  his  son 


I02  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

from  any  responsibility  whatever;  hence,  when 
called  upon  by  his  father,  Martin  readily  agreed 
to  join  in  the  prayer  circle. 

This  circle  is  considered  by  the  brethren  as 
being  the  most  sacred  way  of  making  a  vow,  ex- 
cept vows  made  in  their  temples. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

About  noon,  on  Wednesday,  the  carriage  of 
the  mighty  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  came  in 
sight  and  stopped  in  front  of  Bodenheimer's 
home.  All  were  astir,  in  a  moment,  and  rushed 
to  the  carriage,  as  he  alighted,  to  shake  the  hand 
of  the  holy  man  of  earth.  It  was  not  long  until 
the  whole  populace  knew  of  his  presence  in  the 
Garden  City  and  was  anxious  to  meet  him ;  but 
he  at  once  announced  that  he  could  see  no  one 
but  those  whom  the  Lord  had  directed  him  to  see, 
until  he  had  first  fulfilled  his  mission. 

As  soon  as  the  prophet  was  ready,  dinner  was 
announced.  The  meal  being  over,  all  of  the 
interested  parties  to  the  conflict  between  Martin 
and  Mary,  together  with  the  holy  man,  repaired 
to  the  private  office  of  Bodenheimer.  After  all 
were  seated  comfortably,  the  prophet  said: — 

*'If  I  have  not  misunderstood  the  Holy  Spirit  I 
have  been  directed  to  come  here,  at  this  time,  to 
consult  with  part  of  the  families  of  two  of  my 
best  workers  in  and  for  the  upbuilding  of  Zion. 
It  may  appear  strange  to  these  young  people,  but 
not  to  you  older  ones,  I  am  quite  sure,  just  why 
I  happened  to  appear  here,  and  how  I  know  the 
circumstances  for  which  I  came.  It  is  by  revela- 
tion from  above.  I  had  a  vision.  I  saw  two  of 
my  influential  and  good  workers,  struggling  in 
103 


I04  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

bitter  combat,  as  it  were.  This  was  on  Monday 
evening  last;  the  Spirit  revealed  to  me  what  it 
meant.  It  further  said  that  it  had  appeared  unto 
Brother  Bodenheimer  and  had  arranged  a  meeting 
for  this  hour,  which  I  should  attend.  Is  it  not  a 
fact,  my  brethren,  that  there  is  some  trouble  be- 
tween you,  about  these  two  young  people?" 

"You  have   spoken   as    the    conditions   are," 
replied  Hildreth. 

"Have  no  more  trouble  about  this  matter;  for 
the  eyes  of  Heaven  are  upon  you.  Verily,  your 
differences  have  even  threatened  the  peace  of 
Zion,  by  threatening  to  go  before  the  infernal 
Gentile  courts  with  this  petty  dispute.  Let  me 
ask  you,  have  the  so-called  courts  of  the  United 
States  any  right  to  settle  matters  between  the 
Saints?  Nay,  verily;  the  lowest  decision  of  a 
Saint  is  far  above  the  highest  and  wisest  of  theirs. 
Theirs  is  a  debased  government;  ours  is  exalted 
and  knows  no  wrong.  Ah!  is  it  not  a  fact  that" 
they  have  sent  an  army  here  to  rob  us  of  our 
rights,  and  are  now  seeking  to  establish  their  so- 
called  courts  here  to  harass  our  people?  We 
have  petitioned  their  debased  congress  to  grant 
us  statehood,  under  the  name  of  Deseret,  that 
we  might  build  up  a  state  like  unto  the  hoi}'' 
kingdom.  They  denied  our  petition ;  yet,  I  here 
prophesy  unto  my  people  that  we  will  yet  place  a 
star  upon  their  flag  that  will  become  the  ruling 
star;  for  the  state  that  it  shall  represent  shall  be 
ruled  by  the  holy  priesthood  from  among  God's 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I05 

chosen;  and  the  influence  thereof  shall  spread 
from  state  to  state,  until  this  so-called  govern- 
ment shall  quake  beneath  its  power;  then,  why 
will  any  of  my  people  threaten  to  recognize  their 
imaginary  courts,  in  any  matters  whatsoever?  In 
fact,  my  brethren,  you  have  no  differences  to 
settle.  All  is  well.  The  spirit  revealed  to  me 
that  thy  daughter,  my  Brother  Hildreth,  is 
divinely  conceived;  and  that  she  shall  bear  a  son, 
who  shall  become  most  wonderful  in  wisdom  and 
power,  annointed  from  above  and  loved  of  all 
men,  for  they  shall  look  to  him  for  light  and 
knowledge.  The  man  who  is  to  be  his  earthly 
guardian  resides  at  Springville,  just  half  way  to 
your  home  from  here ;  he  is  divinely  chosen  to  fill 
this  sacred  office.^  I  speak  of  no  less  a  personage 
than  Brother  Hyrum  Nolby,  who  is  one  of  the 
best,  most  attentive  and  noblest  members  of  our 
sacred  priesthood.  Why,  my  dear  brothers  and 
sisters,  the  vision  further  told  me  that  he  should 
be  at  this  meeting ;  can  it  be  possible  that  I  mis- 
understood the  words?  Nay,  verily;  I  see  him 
alighting  from  his  carriage  now ;  let  us  give  him 
a  hearty  welcome,  and  ask  him  to  explain  why  he 
came  here  at  this  time. ' ' 

The  prophet  had  scarcely  closed  his  remarks 
when  Hyrum  entered  the  room.  All,  except 
Mary,  arose  and  gave  him  the  '*hearty  welcome" 
by  a  good  handshake  and-cordial  words ;  but  poor 
Mary  saw  the  way  that  things  were  turning  and 
she  would  have  protested  against  the  whole  pro- 


Io6  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ceedings,  even  in  the  face  of  her  oath;  but  she 
saw  that  there  was  no  use ;  even  her  parents  had 
forsaken  her,  by  welcoming  this  man,  under  the 
words  spoken  by  the  prophet. 

Again  all  were  seated,  when  the  prophet  asked 
Nolby  to  explain  why  he  had  come  to  the  Garden 
City,  at  this  particular  time,  and  what  his  busi- 
ness was  at  this  meeting. 

Hyrum  began  slowly  by  saying: — 

"I  do  not  like  to  be  called  to  speak  upon  this 
delicate  question,  especially  in  the  presence  of  so 
many;  but  knowing  that  we  should  ever  be  will- 
ing to  respond  to  the  will  of  the  Lord  in  all  things, 
I  fain  would  yield  my  selfish  feelings  and  explain 
the  mission  of  my  coming.  It  is  in  answer  to  the 
comtnands  of  a  personage  of  light,  I  know  not 
whom,  but  this  is  its  command:  'Go  to  the  office 
of  the  president  of  this  stake,  for  the  Lord  has 
work  for  thee.  Thou  shalt  enter  his  vineyard 
and  do  his  pleasure,  by  taking  unto  thyself  a 
young  bride  who  shall  bear  a  son  unto  me  (the 
vision). '  For  a  few  moments  I  was  paralyzed  and 
stood  riveted  to  the  spot,  as  it  ascended  and  van- 
ished behind  the  clouds.  I  dropped  my  work, 
prepared  myself,  according  to  directions,  and 
came  to  know  if  such  were  the  case ;  and,  if  so, 
does  it  meet-  with  the  approval  of  all  concerned?" 

'*It  is  the  case,"  said  the  prophet,  "and  meets 
the  hearty  approval  of  "^11 ;  for  it  is  the  Lord's 
will  and  must  be  followed;  there  is  no  other 
alternative.     If  we  should  attempt  to  go  against 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I07 

such  manifestations,  as  we  have  seen  demon- 
strated here,  we  would  most  surely  be  damned. 
I  now  ask  all  who  are  in  favor  of  standing  by  the 
Lord's  will,  to  rise  to  your  feet." 

Each  one  present  arose  promptly,  except  Mary. 
She  hesitated;  but  finally  was  induced,  under 
strong  persuasion,  to  stand  up;  as  she  did  so  she 
burst  into  tears.  Many  things  had  taken  place 
which  she  could  not  understand;  yet  there  was 
an  indwelling  witness  in  her  soul  which  told  her 
that  all  was  false. 

With  a  broken  heart  she  obeyed  everything  that 
was  bidden  of  her,  even  to  entering  Hyrum  Nol- 
by's  carriage,  when  she  was  driven  to  the  nearest 
endowment  chamber,  where  she  was  made  his 
third  wife  for  time  and  eternity.  Hyrum  entirely 
forgot  the  vision  in  the  temple,  and  instead  of 
having  poor  Mary  reserved  for  that  personage  in 
the  spirit  land,  he  took  her  to  himself,  not  only 
for  this,  but  for  the  future  life  as  well ;  thus  com-^ 
pletely  shutting  the  vision  out  forever. 

Three  months  later  a  little  daughter  of  Martin 
Bodenheimer's  came  and  took  up  her  abode  at 
the  home  of  Hyrum  Nolby's.  Its  father  was  far 
from  the  scene,  across  the  wide  Atlantic,  preach- 
ing virtue  and  honor  as  a  Saint.  By  every  man- 
ner of  deception,  as  to  conditions  in  Utah,  and 
the  teachings  of  the  Saints,  Martin  was  trying  to 
convert  human  beings  to  the  religion  of  deception 
and  licentiousness  in  order  to  bring  them  to  the 
land  of  Zion. 


I08  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

When  Mary  and  her  parents  went  to  the  author- 
ities of  the  church  to  know  the  reason  why  things 
had  not  turned  out  according  to  the  revelation, 
their  answer  was  that  it  was  because  of  her  obsti- 
nancy  in  refusing  to  give  her  full  consent  to  the 
will  of  the  Lord.  Another  month  of  intense 
suffering  from  remorse  of  conscience  passed  by, 
when  poor  Mary  lost  her  reason;  she  raved  at 
times,  but  at  other  times  she  was  calm.  She  was 
given  the  slackest  care,  in  this,  that  she  was  nei- 
ther sent  to  an  insane  asylum  nor  provided  with 
a  constant  watch.  She  wandered  away  from  the 
miserable  place  of  Nolby's  one  beautiful  evening 
in  April,  as  the  shades  of  night  had  begun  to  hover 
over  the  valley.  The  next  day  she  was  found  in 
a  deep  hole  in  Spring  Creek,  with  her  babe 
tightly  clasped  to  her  breast.  Thus  ended  the 
poor,  unhappy  girl. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Zina  Blatherskite  was  waiting  in  a  room  adja- 
cent to  Bodenheimer's  office  for  a  private  meeting 
with  the  great  leaders.  As  soon  as  the  case  of 
the  Hildreths  was  disposed  of,  they  took  their 
departure  and  the  president  and  prophet  were 
soon  alone. 

Zina  stepped  into  the  room  with  her  usual  dar- 
ing manner,  without  the  slightest  invitation,  and 
walking  up  to  the  prophet  took  him  by  the  hand, 
saying : — 

"Beloved  Brother,  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,  and 
at  the  very  moment  when  I  was  contemplating  a 
trip  to  Zion,  in  company  with  Brother  Bodenhei- 
mer,  on  purpose  to  see  you.  You  can  readily 
notice  that  I  need  no  solicitation  to  come,  even 
into  your  divine  presence,  when  I  have  matters 
of  vital  importance  to  our  holy  church  and  the 
blessed  plurality." 

Still  clasping  hands,  the  prophet  answered: 
**I  am  well  aware  of  all  you  have  said,  my  good 
sister,  and  I  like  your  good  natured  way  about 
everything  and  your  charming  manner  of  putting 
all  things;  for  they  are  always  to  the  point.  I 
have  often  remarked  that  you.  Sister  Zina,  are  the 
best  worker  for  the  upbuilding  of  Zion  of  all  the 
sisters,  not  barring  Sister  Snow.  Now,  make 
known  the  urgent  matter  to  which  you  desire  to 
109 


IIO  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

call  our  attention.  Any  request  of  time  that  is 
within  the  power  of  the  holy  priesthood  shall  be 
granted  thee." 

The  door  being  closed,  she  proceeded  to  lay  be- 
fore the  two  great  leaders  all  that  James  had  said 
and  done  on  the  morning  of  the  discovery  of  the 
death  of  his  mother;  nor  did  she  allow  any  of  the 
glitter  that  would  arouse  the  ire  of  the  two  great 
men  to  fall  from  the  picture  she  painted.  She  relat- 
ed, in  the  strongest  terms  her  intellect  could  de- 
vise, everything  that  had  transpired  at  the  time, 
adding  many  untruths  to  what  James  had  really 
said  and  done  in  order  to  inflame  the  terrible  wrath 
which  sometimes  lurked  within  the  bosoms  of 
these  holy  men.       She  finally  closed  by  saying: — 

' '  Oh  my  heavenly  guides,  he  said  that  each  of 
you  should  be  drawn  and  quartered  in  order  to 
get  your  just  deserts.  You  say  that  I  may  have 
anything  within  the  gift  of  the  holy  priesthood. 
Is  there  anything  that  is  not  within  the  power  of 
this  divine  body?  Certainly  that  which  I  ask  is 
within  their  power,  for  I  ask  only  that  this  stum-, 
bling  block  be  taken  to  the  mountains  and  dis- 
patched, that  he  may  not  return  to  destroy  the 
peace  and  tranquillity  of  our  sacred  family 
circle." 

A  meeting  of  the  prayer  circle  of  this  stake  was 
held  that  same  evening,  at  which  the  doom  of 
James  was  sealed. 

James  was  very  fond  of  hunting,  and  when 
three  of  his  supposed   friends  invited  him    to 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  Ill 

accompany  them  on  a  hunting  trip,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  he  accepted  the  invitation, 
thinking  such  a  trip  might  temporarily  turn  his 
mind  from  his  sorrows.  The  time  was  arranged 
for  the  trip  on  Saturday,  one  week  and  four  days 
after  the  funeral  of  his  mother. 

The  shooting  was  fine  and  James  enjoyed  the 
sport,  as  much  as  possible,  under  the  circum- 
staiyes.  He  killed  more  ducks  than  any  two  of 
his  companions.  They  hunted  until  it  was  too 
dark  to  see  to  shoot,  then  all  started  to  go  to  the 
hack  to  start  for  home.  On  reaching  the  wagon, 
one  of  his  companions  proposed  that  they  all 
empty  their  guns  before  getting  into  the  vehicle. 
James  thought  there  was  no  danger,  if  they  were 
careful ;  then  all  three  declared  that  it  was  their 
usual  custom  to  do  so  and  that  it  was  the  only  safe 
way  to  avoid  accidents.  Finally,  it  was  agreed  to 
empty  their  guns,  which  were  muzzle  loading 
shot-guns  therefore,  had  to  be  fired  off  in  order 
to  get  rid  of  the  loads.  They  fired  a  volley  in 
rapid  succession,  which,  according  to  a  pre- 
arranged plan,  was  a  signal  for  action.  The  guns 
were  no  sooner  emptied  than  one  of  the  men 
seized  him  from  behind,  and  had  both  hands 
behind  him  before  he  had  time  to  realize  his  con- 
dition. His  gun  fell  to  the  ground  and  the  other 
two  men  had  hold  of  him  in  an  instant.  He 
struggled  desperately  as  if  knowing  what  was  up 
and  that  his  life  depended  upon  it;  but  finally 
was  overpowered,    bound   hand    and    foot,    and 


112  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

gagged.  One  of  the  men,  who  afterward  left  the' 
church,  related  that  before  having  the  gag  thrust 
into  his  mouth  his  last  words  were,  "  infamous 
Mormon  treachery." 

When  the  volley  from  the  guns  rang  out,  two 
men  in  a  heavy  skiff,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
above,  started  to  row  down  the  river  at  once  to 
the  place  where  the  shots  were  fired ;  they  reached 
the  point  about  the  time  James  was  securely 
bound  and  gagged,  and  he  was  hurriedly  carried 
into  the  skiff,  and  the  two  men  with  their  victim, 
pulled  for  the  lake.  They  rowed  across  the  lake 
to  a  place  called  Pelican  Point,  a  sharp  point  of 
land  projecting  into  the  lake  about  one-half  a 
mile.  At  this  point  he  was  turned  over  to  two 
Danites,  or  "Destroying  Angels."  These  men 
said  not  a  word,  but  each  seemed  to  know  his 
part  and  played  it  to  perfection. 

The  two  ''Destroying  Angels"  took  him  about 
five  miles  southwest  in  the  hills,  where  he  was 
brutally  murdered,  according  to  revelation.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  wore  a  heavy  leather 
belt  with  a  metal  buckle.  On  the  inside  of  this 
buckle  were  engraved  the  initials  of  his  name. 
Long  years  afterward  some  prospectors  came 
across  a  bleached  skeleton  of  a  human  being  at 
this  point.  A  half-decayed,  hardened  leather  belt 
was  found  around  the  bones,  with  a  metal  buckle 
attached  thereto,  on  the  inside  of  which  were  the 
letters,  "J.  B." 

The  two  sisters  waited  in  silence  for  his  return. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  II3 

They  listened  for  his  foot-steps  on  the  long  stair 
and  in  the  hall;  but  alas!  they  waited  and 
watched  in  vain.  All  their  anxious  inquiries  and 
grief  were  unheeded,  and  soon  they  learned  that 
it  was  useless  to  ask  about  him.  They  deeply 
mourned  his  absence,  but  dared  not  mention  it, 
except  to  each  other. 

The  place  where  he  lay  they  never  knew.  The 
summer  rains  and  the  winter  snows  fell  on  the 
form  they  had  loved  so  much  in  life.  The  flow- 
ers bloomed  around  his  bones,  and  shed  their 
petals  over  them  as  if  trying  to  cover  them.  The 
sly  coyote  trotted  by  and  eyed  askance  the  ghastly 
spot. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

There  was  sorrow  in  the  hearts  of  all  in  the 
homes  of  the  Walthams  and  Allisons  over  the 
death  of  Rhoda.  They  loved  and  sympathized 
with  her  during  life,  and  now  they  turned  all  of 
their  sympathy  to  her  poor,  bereaved  children. 
On  Thursday  of  the  next  week  after  this  sad 
death,  Vernon  Stanton  left  the  Garden  City  and 
went  back  to  Zion.  While  in  the  Garden  City 
some  things  had  transpired  that  would  always  be 
remembered  with  pleasure,  but  there  were  many 
things  which  came  to  his  notice  that  filled  his 
heart  with  sadness.  " 

There  was  a  young  woman  by  the  name  of 
Margaret  Baird,  who  worked  in  the  Allison  fam- 
ily, whose  story  of  life  filled  his  heart  with  pity. 

He  had  been  confined  to  his  room  on  account 
of  sickness  for  several  days  during  the  stay  with 
the  Allisons.  Margaret  had  been  very  kind  to 
him  during  this  time.  She  had  taken  special  care 
in  preparing  dishes  which  his  delicate  appetite 
might  relish;  also,  in  keeping  his  room  in  perfect 
order  and  at  a  comfortable  temperature.  In  this 
way  he  became  well  acquainted  with  her.  He 
often  noticed  as  she  went  quietly  about  her  work 
in  the  room,  tears  standing  in  her  eyes  and  some- 
times rolling  down  her  pretty  cheeks  and  drop- 
ping to  the  floor.  He  saw  that  her  soul  was 
114 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  II5 

bowed  down  with  some  deep  sorrow,  and  his  sym- 
pathetic heart  was  touched.  He  had  never  seen 
so  intelligent  a  girl  working  as  a  servant,  and 
wondered  what  conditions  had  brought  her  to  this 
state.  One  morning  as  she  made  her  usual  visit 
to  arrange  his  room,  evidently  more  sorrowful 
than  usual,  he  ventured  to  ask  the  cause  of  her 
sadness.  She  answered  him  confidingly,  as  she 
believed  him  to  be  an  honorable  man,  who  would 
sympathize  with  her  in  her  distress.  She  stood 
silent  for  a  moment,  then  approaching  him,  she 
said  in  her  meek  and  modest  way, — 

"You  will  pardon  me,  Mr.  Stanton,  for  I  did 
not  intend  that  you  should  detect  my  lonely  sor- 
row. You  are  so  much  like  the  good  people  of 
old  England,  where  I  was  raised  until  I  was  thir- 
teen years  of  age,  that  ever}'  time  I  see  you  my 
mind  is  led  back  to  the  happy  days  of  childhood, 
to  my  mother,  brother  and  sister." 

As  she  spoke  these  names  her  voice  trembled 
and  the  tears  flowed  freely,  and  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  she  was  able  to  finish  the  sentence. 

"And  where  are  they  now?"  asked  Mr.  Stanton. 
After  a  few  moments  silence,  in  order  to  over- 
come her  emotion,  she  answered : — 

"O,  sir,  they  are  there  still,  if  they  are  living, 
and  I  pray  to  Heaven  they  are.  I  would  have 
been  there,  too,  but  for  the  reason  that  I  had 
always  idolized  my  father,  and  when  he  decided 
to  corne  to  Utah  he  and  the  missionaries  painted 
such  a  glowing  picture  of  this  promised  land  that 


Il6  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

I  came  along  with  him;  but  alas!  the  bitter  sor- 
row I  have  experienced  from  taking  that  step. 
You  see  my  father  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman, 
preached  for  the  good  Church  of  England,  was 
highly  educated,  and  had  many  friends.  The 
Mormon  missionaries  came  into  our  community, 
and  for  some  unaccountable  reason  he  became  a 
convert,  and  at  once  decided  to  come  to  Zion. 
He  tried  every  scheme  he  could  devise  to  induce 
my  mother  to  come,  but  her  strong  intelligence 
and  forceful  character  could  not  be  swayed  by 
their  teachings.  She  took  a  firm  English  stand 
against  coming,  and  no  persuasion  could  change 
her  determinations.  The  other  two  children 
decided  to  stay  with  her,  and  I,  poor  miserable 
wretch,  came  with  him.  When  we  reached  Zion, 
he  was  greatly  disappointed.  The  mission  prom- 
ises of  'flowery  beds  of  ease'  all  vanished.  He 
soon  began  to  lose  self-respect ;  then  he  became 
wholly  changed  from  the  high-toned,  dignified 
gentleman  that  he  had  been,  to  a  groveling  serf 
of  a  Mormon,  with  all  that  the  word  implies.  He 
then  took  a  young  wife,  who  had  neither  sense 
nor  decency ;  soon  after  another,  and  still  a  third, 
all  within  a  year  after  reaching  Zion.  He  was 
degraded  not  only  morally,  but  mentally,  socially, 
physically  and  reduced  financially.  There  he 
moved  in  the  highest  circles  of  an  English  clergy- 
man— to-day  he  lives  in  a  little  adobe  hut  in  the 
western  part  of  this  town,  with  no  floor-  except 
mother  earth.     There   in   that  hovel    he   keeps 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  II7 

three  women  and  twelve  children ;  and  there  is 
not  sufficient  bed  clothing  in  the  house  to  cover 
them  comfortably  at  night.  I  am  compelled  to 
work  like  a  slave  to  help  feed  and  clothe  them ; 
and  yet  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  I  must  not 
complain ;  and  added  to  all  this  they  tax  me  ten 
per  cent,  of  what  little  I  can  earn  for  tithing ;  but 
they  give  me  this  consolation,  that  if  I  will  be 
baptized  into  the  church  and  become  a  plural  of 
David  Bronson,  the  Lord  will  relieve  me  of  my 
burden.  I  have  said  nothing  in  answer  to  these 
propositions,  and  have  evaded  both;  but,  sir,  I 
have  fully  resolved  that  I  will  sacrifice  my  life  on 
the  altar  of  purity  before  I  will  ever  consent  to 
do  either.  Oh !  what  a  change  has  come  in  the 
seven  years  since  last  I  saw  my  loving  mother. 
Four  months  from  that  time  my  father  spoke  his 
last  words  of  love  to  me  because  I  refused  to 
accept  their  doctrine  and  be  baptized  into  the 
church;  in  fact  I  have  been  ostracized.  No 
human  being  has  expressed  any  love  or  feeling 
for  me  until  I  got  to  work  in  the  Allison  family. 
This  family  and  the  Walthams  are  fine  people, 
far  too  good  to  be  Mormons.  Oh!  Mr.  Stanton, 
when  I  reflect  over  the  past  I  am  crazed  with 
grief.  Would  to  heaven  that  I  had  died  before 
I  ever  saw  Utah." 

As  she  grew  into  the  story,  her  eyes  sparkled 
with  uncommon  brilliancy,  her  pale  cheeks 
flushed  from  excitement;  her  intellectual  feat- 
ures, her  strong  forceful  character,  clearly  por- 
trayed the  type  of  this  pure  English  girl. 


118  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

In  answer  to  a  question,  she  subsequently  told 
him  that  she  would  gladly  go  back  to  England  if 
her  mother  would  forgive  her  and  take  her  back, 
and  if  she  could,  by  any  honorable  means,  secure 
the  necessary  funds  to  pay  her  transportation  and 
expenses. 

Mr.  Stanton  told  her  to  have  courage  and  that 
he  would  see  what  could  be  done.  He  took  her 
mother's  address  and  told  her  to  be  patient. 

He  found  an  excuse  to  visit  her  father's  place, 
to  ascertain  all  for  himself,  so  he  could  be  able 
to  corroborate  her  story  and  speak  from  absolute 
knowledge. 

The  first  thing  he  did  after  arriving  at  Zion 
was  to  write  fully  everything  he  had  learned 
about  this  young  woman  to  her  mother.  He 
explained  her  unhappy  surroundings  and  repent- 
ant condition.  He  told  her  how  much  her 
daughter  had  longed  to  come  back  to  her  home 
in  England,  and  to  get  away  from  scenes  of  dis- 
grace and  degradation,  closing  the  letter  with  this 
solicitous  prayer : — 

"For  the  love  of  everything  that  is  pure  and 
holy,  I  pray  that  you  will  allow  your  broken- 
hearted child's  return  to  your  own  hearthstone — 
to  the  hom^e  of  her  youth ;  for  her  very  nature  has 
revolted  against  Mormonism,  and  at  the  risk  of 
life  she  has  steadily  refused  to  go  into  polygamy 
or  be  baptized  into  their  faith.  "  . 

Four  months  afterward  he  received  an  answer. 
It  came  from  a  true,  devoted  mother.     His  letter 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  II9 

to  her  had  been  delayed  in  transit,  but  as  soon  as 
she  received  it,  she  hastened  to  answer: — 

"Manchester,  England,  February  25,  1869. 
Vernon  Stanton,  Esq., 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

Dear  Sir:  Yours  of  November  ^i 5th  last  past 
just  received,  and  contents  carefully  noted. 
Allow  me,  my  dear  sir,  to  thank  you  for  the  kind- 
ness you  have  done  me,  by  sending  me  this  infor- 
mation, and  also  for  the  kindness  you  have  shown 
my  daughter  and  the  interest  you  have  taken  in 
her  welfare. 

Tell  my  darling  child  I  forgive  her  youthful 
error  with  all  my  heart.  Her  brother  and  sister 
long  for  the  time  when  they  can  greet  the  long 
lost  and  absent  one  with  fond  embrace. 

Enclosed  you  will  find  exchange  for  fifty  pounds 
sterling  to  bear  her  expenses  home.  May  the 
God  of  the  universe  guard  my  child  until  she 
arrives  safely  in  my  arms. 

Yours  with  much  gratitude, 

Margaret  E.  Baird.  " 

Mr.  Stanton  wrote  Margaret  at  once,  enclosing 
her  mother's  letter.  This  was  on  Monday.  He 
also  enclosed  a  ticket  for  her  to  come  to  Zion  on 
Wednesday's  stage.  He  gave  her  instructions 
that  if  any  one  should  object  to  her  leaving  the 
Territory  for  her  to  tell  him  that  she  was  of  age, 
and,  further,  that  she  was  under  the  protection 
of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  himself,  as 
agent  for  her  mother;  and  he  further  explained 
to  her  that  while  the  courts  of  the  United  States 
were  yet  somewhat  handicapped,  the  Saints  had 
begun  to  fear  the  action  of  the  same. 


120  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

When  she  read  her  mother's  letter,  her  joy 
knew  no  bounds.  She  was  wild  with  delight,  and 
clasping  the  precious  letter  to  her  breast,  she 
exclaimed : — 

''Thanks  be»to  the  Powers  above,  for  it  shall 
not  be  my  fate  to  be  forced  into  Mormonism, 
although  it  has  been  my  misfortune  to  be  cast 
among  its  devotees  for  eight  long  and  weary 
years;  yet  will  I  escape  from  their  inhuman 
grasp,  free  from  its  lecherous  taint.  I  have  been 
repeatedly  insulted  by  ignorant,  contemptible 
block  teachers,  who  have  exerted  every  influence 
to  force  me  into  the  loathsome  and  degraded 
relation  of  being  a  plural;  yet  have  I  meekly 
borne  it  all  in  silence,  knowing  full  well  that  if  I 
permitted  one  word  of  condemnation  to  escape 
my  lips,  my  life  blood  would  flow  for  daring  to 
cross  the  will  of  their  so-called  holy  priesthood. 
I  shall  yet  stand  before  my  dear  mother,  pure 
as  the  crystals  on  yon  towering  mountain — pure, 
yet  so  near  to  scenes  most  vile.  God  did  not 
intend  it  so.  He  who  sitteth  upon  the  celestial 
throne  gave  unto  man  one  wife,  not  a  multiple. 
Oh,  how  sweet  to  think  that  I  shall  kneel  again 
beside  my  mother's  knee,  with  brother  and  sister, 
in  our  dear  old  English  home,  there  to  hear  the 
prayer  from  my  mother's  lips  ascend  to  the  throne 
on  High,  as  I  heard  it  in  m}^  childhood  days ;  to 
feel  her  gentle  touch  as  she  lays  her  hand  upon 
my  head  and  asks  His  blessing  upon  her  child; 
to  hear  her  hallowed  voice  again,  as  I  heard  it  in 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  T2I 

days  gone  by,  singing  that  old  sweet  song: — 
"  Rock  of  Ages  cleft  for  me." 

A  throng  of  fond  remembrances  and  happy 
expectations  thrilled  her  enraptured  soul  as  her 
voice  rang  out  in  melodious  strains,  as  she  sang 
the  song. 

As  she  finished  the  hymn,  which  had  recalled 
so  vividly  to  her  mind  the  sound  of  her  mother's 
voice,  the  door  to  her  room,  which  was  standing 
slightly  ajar  while  she  sang,  opened  wide,  and 
Lola,  in  utter  amazement,  rushed  into  the  room, 
and  embracing  Margaret,  said: — 

**Why,  Margaret!  I  did  not  know  you  could 
sing.  Your  sweet  voice  has  enchanted  me.  I  can- 
not understand  why  you  have  kept  that  angelic 
voice  silent  so  long.  You  seem  so  happy.  Has 
anything  happened?" 

No  person  had  ever  heard  her  sing  a  note  since 
her  arrival  in  the  land  of  the  Saints.  She  was 
like  a  song  bird  pent  up  in  a  cage,  and  longing 
to  be  free  would  not  be  reconciled  to  its 
imprisonment;  but  having  gained  its  liberty, 
soared  high  into  the  breeze  to  again  test  its  pin- 
ions— stopping  to  rest  on  the  loftiest  bough, 
where  its  voice  broke  forth  to  testify  to  the  sensa- 
tions of  the  heart  in  its  old  accustomed  melody. 

"O,  my  kind  friend!"  she  said;  I  am  going  to 
see  my  mother.  I  start  for  my  native  land  day 
after  to-morrow.  * ' 

**What  do  you  mean?"  cried  Lola. 

**Just  what   I   say,  sweet  friend.     No  longer 


122  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

will  I  make  this  valley  my  home.     I  go  to  a  land 
where  purity  is  revered. " 

"Is  it  not  revered  in  this  land?" 
"Yes,  except  in  this  Territory.     Utah  is  a  blot 
upon  this  fair  and  mighty  land." 

"J  never  heard  you  talk  so  strangely." 
"Nor  any  one  else  except  Vernon  Stanton;  but 
I  have   thought  so  from   the  day  my  feet  first 
touched  her  soil. ' ' 

"Are  there  no  redeeming  features  about  Utah?" 

"Oh,  yes,  there  are  many  redeeming  features. 

Her    soil    is    splendid,    delightful    climate,    and 

grander  scenery  is  not  to  be  found ;  but   I  detest 

the  religion. ' ' 

"I  scarcely  understand  you,  Margaret." 
"You  don't?  Well,  to  be  plain,  there  is  no 
religion  about  it.  It  is  merely  a  form  of  tyranny, 
oppression  and  sensuality ;  and  I  am  going  to  get 
away  from  it.  I  have  just  received  the  sweetest 
letter  from  the  ..best  woman  I  ever  saw — my 
mother.  She  has  forgiven  my  waywardness,  and 
has  consented  to  my  return,  and  I  promise  you 
that  I  will  lose  no  time  in  that  direction. ' ' 

"Where  is  your  home,  and  when  do  you  start?" 

"My  home  is  in  grand  old  England,  where  my 

mother,  brother  and  sister  reside.      I  shall  take 

the  stage  for  Salt  Lake  City  at  eight  o'clock  day 

after  to-morrow  morning." 

Here  Mrs.  Allison  entered  the  room ;  and  Lola, 
turning  to  her  mother,  said : — 

"Margaret  is  going  to  leave  us,  mamma;  she  is 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  123 

going  back  to  her  old  home,  in  England,  and 
starts  day  after  to-morrow  morning. ' ' 

"This  is  rather  sudden,  Margaret;  I  am  very 
sorry  to  give  you  up, ' '  said  Mrs.  Allison. 

'*I,  too,  have  some  regrets  on  leaving  your 
home.  You  have  been  very  kind  to  me,  also, 
the  members  of  the  Waltham  family  have  treated 
me  well;  but  I  will  always  remember  Vernon 
Stanton  as  my  true  friend  and  great  benefactor." 

Then  Margaret  continued  to  tell  Mrs.  Allison 
everything  that  had  occurred.  . 

The  next  day  it  became  generally  noised  about 
town  that  Margaret  was  going  to  start  the  next 
morning  fgr  her  old  home  in  England.  Then  it 
was  recalled  to  mind  that  she  had  never  imbibed 
the  faith,  nor  had  been  baptized;  and  they 
remembered,  also,  that  she  had  never  attended 
any  of  the  church  sociables  or  dances.  No  one 
had  ever  tried  to  keep  church  secrets  from  her, 
as  they  took  her  to  be  simply  a  stupid  daughter 
of  old  Baird ;  but  on  reflecting  they  remembered 
that  he  was  a  high-toned  man  when  he  came  to 
Zion,  and  it  was  reported  then  that  she  was 
highly  educated  for  one  of  her  age. 

When  the  fact  of  her  contemplated  leaving 
came  to  the  ears  of  President  Bodenheimer,  after 
first  consulting  with  different  members  of  the 
high  council,  he  called  a  meeting  of  the  priest- 
hood to  convene  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
At  the  meeting  it  was  soon  decided  that  they  did 
not  want  her   to  leave,    as   she   might   divulge 


124  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

something.  The  case  being  rather  a  desperate 
one,  with  little  time  to  act,  a  prayer  circle  was 
formed,  and  a  revelation  received  that  Margaret 
should  not  go.  After  the  prayer  circle  was  over, 
and  while  the  meeting  was  still  in  progress,  they 
sent  for  her  father,  who  came,  and,  for  the  first 
time,  was  informed  of  Margaret's  intentions.  He 
was  getting  over  a  hard  drunk,  which  had  ex- 
tended over  a  period  of  two  or  three  days'  time. 
When  informed  of  Margaret's  intention,  he  said: 

'*'Hic,'  by — ,  she  shall  not  leave,  depend 
upon  it. ' ' 

"That  is  what  we  wanted  you  to  see  to  and 
without  fail,"  answered  Bodenheimer. 

"Well,  brethren,  'hie,'  you  heard  what  I  said, 
did  you  not?" 

"Yes,  we  heard  what  you  said,  but  what  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?"  said  Lehman. 

"Do  about  it,  hey?  'hie'  Don't  you  doubt  my 
doing  about  it. '  * 

"The  question  is,  What  will  you  do?  She  is 
intending  to  leave  at  eight  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning,  yes,  to-morrow  morning. ' ' 

"Well,  she  won't  start.  'Hie,'  I'll  be  there. 
*Hic,'  I'll  be  there,  president;  'hie',  don't  you 
doubt  me,  president,  for  I'm  Henglish. " 

They  decided  to  do  nothing  until  they  met  at 
the  station  the  next  morning. 

The  members  of  the  priesthood  were  on  hand 
in  force  at  the  station  the  next  morning.  Zina 
Blatherskite   and    many   other    leading    women 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  12$ 

were  also  present,  to  witness  **the  fun  of  old  man 
Baird  clipping  the  pin-feathers  of  his  upstart 
daughter,"  as  they  termed  it. 

They  were  all  there  waiting  when  Margaret 
and  her  friends,  the  Allisons  and  Walthams, 
came  up.  They  observed  that  she  carried  a  small 
American  flag  on  a  staff.  Mr.  Stanton  had  pro- 
vided it  for  the  occasion,  and  told  her  how  to  use 
it  if  necessary,  and  that  help  would  be  on  hand. 
She  carried  in  her  other  hand  a  package  in  paper. 
It  was  a  silken  English  flag,  given  her  by  her 
mother,  at  parting,  which  she  had  carefully  pre- 
served. Mr.  Stanton  had  sent  her  ticket  to  save 
her  the  trouble  of  getting  it  there.  It  was  fifteen 
minutes  before  the  stage  would  leave.  It  was 
all  excitement.  '  None  of  the  crowd  was  on  the 
station  platform,  as  it  was  especially  for  the 
passengers  and  their  immediate  friends. 

Margaret  walked  up  on  the  platform  with  a  firm 
step,  followed  by  her  friends.  Her  father  com- 
ing up  on  the  other  side,  approached  her,  and 
said : — 

"Say,  Margaret,  where  are  you  going?" 

**I  am  going  home,  father." 

'*Home?  you  are  already  at  home,"  he  thun- 
dered. 

**I  have  never  considered  it  as  such,  father; 
hence  I  am  going  back  to  my  good  old  English 
home  and  my  blessed  mother. ' ' 

"Not  if  I  know  myself,  child,"  he  said  with  a 
swaggering  movement  of  determination. 


126  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Then,  father,  you  do  not  know  yourself;  for 
I  am  going. ' ' 

"What!  remember,  child,  you  are  yet  mine; 
you  have  never  disobeyed  me  but  twice  before — 
once  when  you  refused  to  be  baptized,  and  also 
when  you  refused  to  become  Brother  Bronson's 
sixth  woman ;  but  if  you  refuse  to  obey  me  now, 
I  warn  you  that  you  do  so  at  your  own  peril ;  for 
you  shall  not  go. ' ' 

"Father,  how  old  am  I?" 

"Let  me  see,  I  believe  you  were  twenty-one 
last  February;  but  what  has  that  got  to  do  with 
it?" 

"You  are  right  as  to  my  age,  and  it  has  much 
to  do  with  it. ' ' 

With  that  she.  broke  the  string  from  the  pack- 
age, tore  the  paper  off  and  threw  the  silken  flag 
of  England  around  her,  and  as  quick  as  a  flash 
she  waved  the  American  flag  above  her  head, 
saying : — 

"Under  this  flag — every  star  on  its  folds  is  true 
to  the  cause  of  liberty — I  here  proclaim  my  free- 
dom, for  I  am  of  age ;  in  the  name  of  the  good 
people  of  the  United  States  and  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Vernon  Stanton  I  place  myself  beneath 
its  protecting  folds;  and  on  my  own  motion,  as 
a  subject  of  the  British  crown,  I  throw  this  sacred 
flag  my  mother  gave  me  at  parting,  praying  that 
it  might  protect  her  child,  around  my  form.  I, 
therefore,  say  to  all  vile  and  hostile  people,  hands 
off!     I  leave  a  father's  hatred  and  degradation  to 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  1 27 

go  to  a  mother's  love  and  purity.  While  I  am 
weak  physically,  I  am  strong  when  protected  by 
these  two  flags  of  civilization.  Father,  you  have 
disgraced  yourself  beyond  redemption,  and  lost 
all  sense  of  justice  and  propriety ;  therefore  you 
go  your  way,  and — I  will  go  mine.     Good-bye." 

He  shrank  back  at  her  strong,  defiant  words, 
and  the  sight  of  those  two  flags;  and,  as  she 
closed,  he  vanished  through  the  crowd. 

She  stood  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  in  the  midst 
of  a  maddened  throng,  ready  to  tear  her  limb 
from  limb.  Four  Gentiles  had  moved  into  the 
Garden  City  during  the  past  winter,  and  they 
appeared  upon  the  scene.  A  U.  S.  marshal 
and  his  deputy  came  up  at  this  time,  as  pre- 
arranged by  Stanton.  The  marshal  stepped 
upon   the   platform   and  said  in  a  loud  voice : — 

'*It  will  be  well  for  you  all  to  disperse  and  not 
infringe  upon  the  rights  of  this  young  woman. ' ' 

The  stage  drove  up  to  the  station  as  Margaret 
bade  her  friends  farewell ;  and  as  she  bowed  her 
acknowledgments  to  the  officers,  she  stepped 
into  the  stage  coach  and  rolled  away. 

At  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  she  alighted 
from  the  stage  coach  at  Salt  Lake  City,  where 
she  was  met  by  Mr.  Stanton.  He  accompanied 
her  as  far  as  Evanston,  Wyoming,  where  she  was 
to  take  the  Union  Pacific  train  for  New  York, 
where  she  stopped  a  week  with  friends,  preparing 
for  the  ocean  voyage. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Evelyn  and  Lily  had  experienced  many  bitter 
trials  since  the  death  of  their  mother  and  the 
mysterious  disappearance  of  James.  Evelyn  was 
now  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  Lily  would  soon 
be  thirteen.  They  had  complained  about  the 
strange  disappearance  of  their  brother,  and  had 
refused  to  believe  the  stories  that  were  told  them 
about  his  having  gone  on  a  mission;  finally, 
through  fear,  they  had  to  remain  silent,  except 
to  one  or  two  of  their  dearest  friends.  They  had 
talked  to  Adrian  and  Lola  a  number  of  times 
about  it,  and  while  they  did  not  like  to  doubt  the 
stories  of  the  priesthood,  yet  they,  too,  thought 
it  very  strange  that  James  would  leave  so  uncere- 
moniously and  not  even  write  to  his  sisters. 

Zina  set  to  work  as  soon  as  James  was  out  of 
the  way  to  eradicate  all  the  good  teachings  and 
impressions  they  had  received  from  their  mother, 
and  to  force  Evelyn  to  become  a  polygamous 
wife  of  John  Harrisson. 

At  the  time  Margaret  Baird  left  Provo,  Evelyn 
was  visiting  Beulah  Little,  a  cousin,  at  Lehi, 
eighteen  miles  northwest  of  the  Garden  City. 

The  priesthood,  feeling  much  chagrined  at 
being  foiled  in  their  bold  attempt  to  hold  Mar- 
garet, now  endeavored  to  keep  the  matter  quiet, 
fearing  that  a  general  discussion  of  the  matter 
might  create,   in  others,   insubordination  and  a 

desire  to  get  away. 

128 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I29 

Beulah  was  two  years  older  than  Evelyn,  and 
she  had  seen  and  heard  enough  about  the  breth- 
ren to  prejudice  her  mind  strongly  against  them. 
She  was  rather  a  homely  girl,  but  virtuous  and 
honorable  in  her  ideas,  and  also  keen  of  percep- 
tion. The  two  girls  were  bosom  friends,  confid- 
ing in  each  other  with  implicit  confidence. 

After  Evelyn  had  told  Beulah  all  about  her 
mother's  death  from  a  broken  heart  and  the  mys- 
terious disappearance  of  her  brother,  Beulah 
answered : — 

"I  thoroughly  comprehend  and  understand  it 
all.  You  have  my  heartfelt  sympathy,  dear  Eve- 
lyn, for  there  have  been  many  thorns  in  life's  path- 
way for  me,  also.  My  mother,  too,  had  a  bitter 
cup  to  drink  and  as  sad  an  experience  as  did 
yours.  By  nature,  she  and  your  mother  were  as 
much  alike  as  two  sisters  could  be.  She  told  me, 
just  before  she  lost  her  mind,  seven  years  ago, 
all  her  troubles. 

"Our  grandparents  lived  in  Indiana,  where  my 
father  and  mother  were  married.  My  father  was 
then  a  handsome,  well  respected  young  man  and 
my  mother  was  the  idol  of  his  heart.  Soon  afte:i; 
their  marriage,  our  grandparents  were  converted 
to  Mormonism  and  moved  with  their  family  to 
Nauvoo,  where  the  Saints  were  then  gathering. 
By  earnest  persuasion,  my  parents  soon  followed 
and  my  father  became  a  convert.  Your  father 
and  mother  were  married  just  before  the  Saints 
were  driven  out  of  Nauvoo,  and  started  on  their 

8 


130  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

long,  dreary  march  across  the  plains.  After 
reaching  Utah  my  father  became  one  of  the  vilest 
of  men.  It  was  not  long  after  reaching  Utah 
before  he  took  a  young  wife.  Then  he  forced  my 
mother  to  divide  her  jewelry  and  fine  clothes, 
which  were  bought  for  her  before  leaving  Indi- 
ana, with  the  plural.  Scarcely  a  year  passed  by 
before  she  was  forced  to  divide  with  another, 
thus  reducing  her  wardrobe  to  the  scantiest  con- 
dition. From  the  time  he  took  his  second  woman, 
my  mother  was  shamefully  neglected.  His  cru- 
elties did  not  stop  within  our  own  family  circle ; 
but  he  committed  many  crimes,  yes,  dear  Eve- 
lyn, rnany  cruel  and  bloody  crimes,  at  the  behest 
of  his  leaders.  He  was  a  member  of  the  gang 
who  massacred  that  train  of  emigrants  at  Mount- 
ain Meadow." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that  train  of  emigrants 
at  Mountain  Meadow?"  asked  Evelyn  in  amaze- 
ment. 

"Did  you  never  hear  of  that  horrible  deed?" 

"I  never  did." 

"It  was  simply  terrible.  Come  closer,  that  no 
►  one  may  hear,"  she  said,  in  a  low  and  excited 
manner,  as  if  the  very  remembrance  of  her 
mother's  story  had  startled  her.  Then  she  con- 
tinued in  the  same  low  tone  which  was  almost  a 
whisper:  "An  emigrant  train  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-nine  people,  I  believe,  was  passing 
through  this  Territory,  from  Missouri  and  Arkan- 
sas, on  their  way  to  California,     They  were  good 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  13I 

people,  and  very  wealthy;  it  was  the  finest 
equipped  train  that  had  ever  passed  through  the 
Territory.  The  leaders  saw  that  it  was  a  golden 
opportunity  to  secure  a  great  prize.  They  sent 
a  strong  band  to  slay  them,  some  disguised  as 
Indians.  This  blood-thirsty  band  followed  them 
southwest  from  this  valley  about  two  hundred 
miles,  and  there  murdered  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, except  seventeen  small  children,  who  were 
too  young  to  remember  the  awful  scene.  He 
came  home,  not  long  afterward,  with  a  large 
bundle  of  clothing,  consisting  of  silk  dresses,  fine 
shawls,  and  many  other  things.  He  gave  my 
mother  one  of  the  dresses  and  one  of  the  shawls. 
Of  course  my  mother  wanted  to  know  where  he 
had  got  them.  He  told  her  that  they  were  the 
clothes  of  his  sister,  who  had  recently  died  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  Territory.  My  mother, 
being  in  need  of  clothing,  wore  them  frequently 
and  did  not  learn  where  they  really  came  from 
until  five  years  afterward;  and  the  thoughts  of 
wearing  a  dress  or  anything  that  had  been  taken 
from  these  innocent,  good  people  who  had  been 
so  foully  slain  in  order  to  get  them,  made  of  her 
a  raving  maniac.  When  quiet,  she  would  pick  at 
her  dress,  then  she  would  shriek  in  the  wildest 
despair,  'There  are  blood  spots  on  my  dress;  I 
cannot  get  them  off.'  In  this  manner  did  she 
rave  until  death  came  to  her  relief.  After  she 
was  dead,  I  heard  my  father  say  to  one  of  his 
wives,  when  he  thought  no  one  else  heard,  that 


132  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

he  felt  thankful  that  he  was  relieved  from  such  a 
contrary  woman  as  she  was.  Ah !  my  dear  Eve- 
lyn, if  there  is  a  soul  on  this  earth  whom  I  despise 
with  eyery  fiber  of  my  being,  it  is  the  fiend  who 
holds  the  relationship  to  me  of  father. ' ' 

"Horrible!  horrible!  horrible!  But,  dear 
Beulah,  do  not  talk  so  of  uncle.  Remember  that 
he  is  your  father. ' ' 

"Father?  He  is  not  worthy  of  that  blessed 
name.  He  is  only  fit  to  be  chief  for  the  prince  of 
the  'infernal  regions.'  I  have  had  experience — I 
know  whereof  I  speak,  and  as  for  your  brother 
James — remember  what  I  tell  you — he  has  been 
murdered;  yes,  murdered  by  revelation,  and  by 
order  of  the  saintly  priesthood.  I  have  seen  so 
much  that  I  know  their  every  mysterious  move- 
ment " 

"Oh,  it  certainly  cannot  be  that  my  dear 
brother  is  dead — murdered  by  the  order  of  our 
saintly  priesthood!  I  cannot,  I  will  not  believe 
it,"  said  Evelyn,  wringing  her  hands  piteously. 

"Evelyn,  be  more  quiet.  I  would  not  have 
you  believe  this  if  it  were  possible  for  me  to  be- 
lieve otherwise :  you  may  wait  and  watch  a  hun- 
dred years,  could  you  live  so  long,  but  you  will 
never  see  your  dear  brother  again.  When  they 
go  on  that  long  mission,  they  never  return." 

* '  Then  I  shall  revolt  against  the  tyranny  of  the 
church  leaders.  It  cannot  be  true:  for  father 
says  James  has  gone  on  a  mission,  and  that  he 
knows  where  he  is  now.     I  know  he  would  not  be 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  I33 

a  party  to  taking  my  brother's  life.  No,  no, 
Beulah,  it  cannot  be  true." 

•'That  is  where  you  are  mistaken,  Evelyn. 
He  is  like  my  father  and  every  other  true,  de- 
voted Saint.  They  will  all  obey  the  holy  priest- 
hood (?)  even  to  shedding  the  blood  of  their  own 
(  ffspring.  Dear  Evelyn,  the  revolt  you  speak  of 
must  be  confined  within  the  limits  of  your  own 
brain  and  bosom  or  you  will  go  on  the  same  mis- 
sion as  your  brother." 

"What!  do  you  think  they  would  kill  me,  if  I 
openly  object  to  some  of  their  proceedings,  and 
refuse  to  do  their  bidding?" 

"I  do  not  think  anything  about  it;  I  know  of 
what  I  am  speaking.  Refuse  to  obey  the  revealed 
commands,  raise  a  disturbance  about  something 
they  have  done,  and  if  they  deem  it  necessary  to 
get  you  out  of  the  way,  you  will  go — that  is  all. " 

"I  have  already  refused  to  obey  them;  for  they 
have  advised  me  several  times  to  marry  old  John 
Harrisson,  since  mother  died  and  brother  left 
home.  They  say  I  must  become  his  third;  but, 
Beulah,  I  will  never  act  contrary  to  the  teaching 
of  my  dead  mother;  I  will  die  first. " 

The  priesthood  had  begun  to  get  over  the  shock 
that  Margaret  Baird  gave  them,  about  the  time 
Evelyn  came  home.  Shortly  afterward  they 
held  a  general  council,  at  which  they  accused  old 
Baird  of  neglecting  his  duty,  and  excused  them- 
selves, for  Margaret  having  got  away,  and  finally 
decided  that  the  priesthood  had  not  really  failed. 


134  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

They  resolved  to  make  it  a  little  warm  for  the  few 
Gentiles  who  were  there  and  for  all  who  opposed 
the  will  of  the  priesthood  in  any  manner.  A  list 
of  the  names  was  presented  at  the  meeting  of 
those  who  had  not  complied  with  counsel  which 
had  been  given  them;  and  upon  this  list  was 
the  name  of  Evelyn.  This  list  had  been  sent  to 
Bodenheimer  by  Zina,  "The  Divine,"  specifying 
that  the  case  of  Evelyn  demanded  immediate 
investigation.  So  they  held  the  usual  prayer 
circle,  with  Bishop  Blatherskite  leading  in  prayer. 
He  had  just  been  sealed  to  a  number  of  fine  oper- 
atic singers,  who  had  passed  to  the  future  life, 
and  he  had  secured  the  promise  of  the  higher 
authorities,  that,  if  Jenny  Lind  died  before  he  did, 
he  should  be  sealed  to  her,  as  he  wanted  to  make 
her  his  prima  donna  in  his  celestial  opera  com- 
pany. Exultant  over  those  who  had  already 
been  sealed  to  him,  and  the  prospect  of  Jenny,  he 
was  prepared  to  go  to  the  last  degree  of  fanaticism 
that  the  priesthood  and  Zina  might  suggest,  even 
against  his  own  children,  and  was  perfectly  will- 
ing to  pray  for  the  death  of  his  own  daughter,  if 
the  priesthood  so  decided. 

After  prayer,  it  was  decided  that  Evelyn  should 
marry  Brother  John  Harrisson,  as  she  had  long 
since  been  counseled  that  she  was  expected  to 
do  this  in  obedience  to  the  Lord's  will.  Her 
father,  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  among  other 
things,  said: — 

"If  she  absolutely  refuses  to  obey  counsel,   I 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  135 

will  sacrifice  her  upon  the  sacred  altar  as  a  blood 
atonement,  if  it  is  required  by  the  Lord,  and  so 
expressed  through  the  holy  priesthood." 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  her 
the  next  evening,  at  eight  o'clock,  in  her  father's 
office.  Blatherskite  was  to  talk  to  her  in  the 
meantime,  and  try  to  subdue  her  rebellious  spirit 
beforehand.  If  he  could  not  force  her  to  yield, 
then  this  committee  of  three  was  to  give  her  the 
ultimatum ;  and  if  this  failed,  they  were  instruct- 
ed to  bring  her  at  once,  by  force,  before  the 
priesthood  meeting,  as  that  body  would  be  in 
session,  until  the  committee  should  report. 

Her  father  called  her  into  the  office  the  next 
afternoon,  and  said,  "Dear  daughter,  I  desire  to 
have  a  talk  with  you  about  your  marriage. ' ' 

"Why,  father,  I  am  not  even  in  love,  much  less 
at  the  point  of  marriage. ' ' 

"But,  my  child,  you  have  been  counseled  to 
marry  Brother  John  Harrisson,  who  is  a  good 
man,  and  first  counselor  to  Bishop  Lehman." 

"Father,  I  am  surprised  that  you  would  sug- 
gest such  a  union  to  me — a  young  g^rl — your  own 
daughter !  Marry  that  old  crackling,  who  already 
has  two  wives  and  a  herd  of  children,  some  of 
which  are  older  than  I?" 

"Yes,  I  know  all  this,  Evelyn,  but  he  is  a  good 
man;  besides,  the  Lord  has  revealed  it  unto  him 
that  you  shoiild  marry  him." 

"Did  he  say  as  much?" 

"He  has  said  this  in  the  priesthood  meetings, 
at  four  different  times.  " 


136  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Then  he  has  falsified  in  the  priesthood  meet- 
ings just  that  number  of  times. " 

"My  child,  you  must  not  talk  thus,  I  know  it  is 
true ;  for  the  Lord  has  revealed  it  unto  me,  also, ' ' 
he  said  in  a  strong,  commanding  voice. 

"Father,  if  any  other  human  being  on  earth 
should  say  that  to  me,  I  would  say  to  him  that  it 
is  as  false  as  false  can  be ;  but  as  it  is  you,  you 
being  my  sire,  I  will  simply  say  to  you  that  the 
Lord  will  be  disappointed  when  he  sees  that  I 
will  not  comply. ' ' 

This  was  said  with  such  determination  behind 
it  that  the  father  saw  that  there  was  no  use  in 
pressing  the  matter  further  at  this  time. 

The  sacred  committee  came  at  the  appointed 
hour,  when  the  father  conducted  Evelyn  into  the 
office  and  left  her  with  the  committee.  The 
spokesman  of  the  committee  opened  the  conver- 
sation thus: — 

"Sister  Evelyn,  we  have  come  to  advise  with 
you  about  your  marriage. '  * 

"Gentlemen,  that  is  a  question  with  which  you 
have  absolutely  nothing  to  do,  and  I  will  not 
countenance  you,  nor  dignify  you  sufficiently  to 
discuss  it  with  you.  There  is  no  one  with  whom 
I  am  in  love,  as  yet;  and  I  am  very  sure  that  I 
shall  not  marry  until  I  find  the  right  man,  and 
one  that  I  love  with  all  my  heart. ' ' 

"Yes,  but  the  Lord  has  revealed  it  to  Brother 
Harrisson  that  you  should  be  his  wife,  and  each 
of  us  is  a  witness  to  the  fact." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  137 

"The  Lord  has  sadly  neglected  to  say  anything 
to  me  about  it,  and  I  will  say  here,  for  fear  that 
you  should  misunderstand  me,  that  the  Lord 
has  had  nothing  to  do  with  this  shameful  prop- 
osition. ' ' 

"Sister  Evelyn,  you  must  not  dispute  the  holy 
revelations  of  the  priesthood." 

"The  holy  priesthood  must  not  falsify  then; 
neither  must  it  meddle  with  those  things  which 
do  not  concern  it. " 

"Does  not  marriage  concern  it?" 

"Mine  doesn't." 

"Your  soul's  salvation  depends  upon  your  com 
plying  and  marrying  Brother  Harrisson. " 

"Then  my  soul  is  lost;  for  I  will  not  comply. 
I  don't  happen  to  believe  it,  however.  Your  false 
revelations  cannot  affect  my  soul ;  for  it  is  secure 
in  its  faith  in  a  just  and  merciful  God,  whom  I 
adore  and  worship,  with  all  the  zeal  that  animates 
my  being.  I  will  trust  only  in  Him,  and  until 
He  reveals  these  things  to  me,  I  will  not  act, 
except  as  my  conscience  dictates." 

"Sister  Evelyn,  reflect  well  before  your  final 
decision.  Your  life  depends  upon  your  comply- 
ing. We  cannot  tolerate  such  disobedience.  Al- 
ready the  discipline  of  the  holy  priesthood  has 
been  threatened.     It  shall  not  occur  again." 

"That,  perhaps,  is  true.  I  can  readily  believe 
that  my  life  depends  upon  my  complying  with 
your  demands.  A  band  of  fiends,  who  would 
torture  my  poor  mother  into  the  gprave,  and  rob 


138  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

an  honorable  young  man,  such  as  my  brother 
James,  of  his  being,  because  of  his  righteous 
opposition,  would  not  scruple  at  taking  the  life  of 
her  daughter  or  his  sister,  if  she  should  dare  to 
disobey  counsel;  but  I  am  determined  that  I  will 
not  obey,  nor  countenance  this  infamous  propo- 
sition." 

"Who  said  we  had  tortured  your  mother  into 
the  grave?" 

'*I  did.     Is  it  possible  you  did  not  hear  me?" 
** Sister  Evelyn,  have  you  counted  the  cost  of 
such  language?     Who  told  you,  I  pray,  that  any 
one  had  robbed  your  brother  of  his  life?" 

"Yes,  I  have  counted  the  cost.  Well  do  I  know 
just  what  to  expect  from  such  vile  hands ;  as  to 
James,  I  know  whereof  I  speak;  the  circum- 
stances surrounding  his  disappearance  absolutely 
exclude  every  other  reasonable  hypothesis.  " 
"Young  woman,  you  will  repent  of  this  talk." 
"I  may  suffer,  but  I  will  never  repent. " 
"Do  not  talk  back  to  us  thus,  thou  wicked 
transgressor !  We  were  sent  by  the  holy  priest- 
hood to  deal  with  you.  Your  father  knows  that 
the  Lord  has  given  unto  all  of  his  brethren  the 
testimony  as  to  Brother  Harrisson's  divine  revela- 
tion. We  demand  that  you  comply  this  night,  by 
agreement,  and  that  the  contract  be  carried  out 
to  the  letter  at  an  early  date,  or  your  blood  will 
atone  for  this  terrible  sin — disobedience  to  the 
Lord's  will.  We  are  loving  friends,  who  would 
gladly  lay  down  our  lives  for  you,  if  you  would 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  1 39 

but  live  Up  to  our  sacred  teachings.  We  do  not 
want  to  be  forced  to  the  last  extremity;  but  it 
must  be  done,  if  you  refuse  the  word  of  the  Lord ; 
for  it  is  a  thousand  times  better  that  your  own 
blood  atone  for  the  mighty  wrong,  than  that  you 
should  be  eternally  lost." 

"Gentlemen,  I  will  be  true  to  the  teachings  of 
my  mother.  I  would  rather  die  a  martyr  to  her 
sacred  teachings  —  yes,  the  most  ignominious 
death  that  your  fiendish  minds  could  conceive — 
than  live  in  luxury,  to  prostitute  the  pure,  upright 
life  that  she  had  mapped  out  for  me.  Therefore, 
if  it  is  so  decreed  that  my  life  shall  pay  the  pen- 
alty for  refusing-,  depend  upon  it,  that  I  will  de- 
part this  life  with  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  I  sacrificed  my  frail  being  on  the  sacred  altar 
of  virtue.'* 

With  this  they  seized,  bound  and  gagged  her, 
and  dragged  her  into  the  darkness ;  finally  bring- 
ing her  into  the  presence  of  the  priesthood,  then 
in  session.  Her  father  had  sufficient  compassion 
to  stay  away  from  this  disgraceful  meeting.  Zina, 
with  another  lewd  friend,  was  waiting  in  an 
adjourning  room,  expecting  to  enjoy  seeing  Eve- 
lyn yield  her  stubbornness  when  brought  into  the 
presence  of  this  august  body. 

When  in  their  presence  and  relieved  of  her  fet- 
ters, she  was  catechised  as  to  her  and  her  moth- 
er's faith,  and  as  to  everj^thing  connected  with 
their  secluded  lives.  She  was  next  catechised  as 
to   the   condition   of  her  person,  when  the  most 


140  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

obscene  questions  that  their  nefarious  brains 
could  coin,  were  put  to  her  tauntingly,  as  to  her 
virginity  and  the  proof  she  might  produce.  These 
questions  came  from  each  one  present.  They 
tried  every  conceivable  method,  at  the  command 
of  their  base  intellects,  to  force  her  into  submis- 
sion ;  but  to  no  a,vail.  Crazed  with  anger  at  their 
failure  to  shake  her  in  her  determination  to  re- 
main true  to  the  teachings  of  her  mother,  they 
then  sought  to  humiliate  her  into  submission.  It 
was  then  that  fanaticism  dragged  the  priesthood 
of  Utah  Stake  of  Zion  to  the  lowest  pit  of  degra- 
dation. 

They  rudely  forced  her  into  one  of  the  side 
rooms,  where  their  malignant  hands  tore  every 
vestige  of  clothing  from  her  trembling  form. 
Her  long,  abundant  hair  fell  on  her  neck  and  to 
her  waist,  hiding  a  tiny  chain  which  held  a  small 
locket,  on  the  inside  of  which  was  a  lock  of  her 
mother's  hair  and  Evelyn's  name.  This  simple 
memento,  given  by  her  mother,  she  held  as  sacred 
as  her  life.  Zina  assisted  in  this  work.  In  this 
nude  condition,  they  carried  her  back  into  the 
presence  of  these  insatiable  beasts — the  priest- 
hood. High  counselor  Harrisson  came  in  from 
an  opposite  room,  in  like  condition,  with  a  de- 
moniacal smile  playing  on  his  countenance,  and 
seizing  her  hands,  forced  her  to  kneel  while  the 
prayer  circle  formed  around  them ;  and  while  in 
this  shameful  pose — at  which  Satan  would  turn 
his  back — they  claimed  to  receive  a  revelation 


THE   FALSE    STAk.  \^i 

that  she  should  obey  His  will  or  yield  up  her 
life. 

On  arising-  from  the  circle  her  hands  were 
loosed,  she  arose  to  her  feet  trembling  like  a  leaf. 
Her  heart  beat  against  the  walls  which  encased 
it,  until  each  pulsation  shook  her  frame.  Her 
deep  breathing  told  her  agony.  She  raised  her 
hands  to  hide  her  face,  while  the  ringlets  of  hair 
fell  between  the  fingers. 

Here  Bodenheimer  said,  in  a  deep,  rythmic 
monotone : — 

"Sister  Evelyn,  do  you  still  refuse  to  be  united 
with  Brother  Harrisson,  whom  you  now  behold 
in  all  of  his  unveiled  voluptuousness  as  Father 
Adam  was  placed  in  the  Garden  of  Eden?  Was 
ever  man  more  grandly  made  than  he?  Behold 
that  noble  breast,  and  arms  on  which  the  stand- 
ing muscles  slope,  which  would  enfold  thee  in 
fond  embrace,  if  thou  wouldst  only  yield." 

**Do  not  insult  me  further.  I  have  been  tor- 
tured, disgraced  and  humiliated  to  a  degree  be- 
yond endurance.  O,  contemptible  vipers!  de- 
stroyers of  all  that  is  pure  of  earth !  I  beseech 
you  to  take  my  life  at  once  and  save  me  from 
further  humiliation.  You  would  transform  the 
world  from  the  sacred  abode  for  man  as  intended 
by  the  divine  plan,  into  a  lecherous  brothel!" 
She  sank  to  her  knees,  and  in  the  most  agonizing 
tones,  she  cried,  **0,  my  angel  mother,  intercede 
at  the  throne  of  mercy  for  thy  suffering  child ! 
Ask  that  my  suffering  may  end  at  once,  that  my 


142  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

soul  may  ascend  to  thy  loving  arms.  Save  me, 
I  pray,  from  further  persecution  at  the  hands  of 
these  hell-hounds,  who  gloat  over  my  misery ! ' ' 

With  this  she  sank  unconscious  to  the  floor. 
She  was  taken  from  the  room  and  placed  in  a 
carriage,  in  the  custody  of  two  men  and  a  driver. 
She  was  never  heard  of  afterward.  About  the 
year  1894  a  skeleton  was  found  in  an  old  deserted 
cabin  near  Castillia  Springs.  In  removing  the 
old  structure,  it  was  found  under  the  floor. 
There  was  a  small  gold  locket,  attached  to  a 
chain  around  the  neck,  which  on  being  examined 
revealed  the  name  * 'Evelyn." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Adrian  and  Lola  had  spent  most  of  the  time 
during  the  winter  at  their  books,  under  the  in- 
structions of  a  private  teacher.  They  were 
advanced  far  beyond  any  of  the  young  people  of 
the  Garden  City;  yet  they  desired  more  knowl- 
edge of  the  world  and  of  things  in  general,  and 
knew  of  no  other  way  of  acquiring  it,  than  by  the 
closest  research  of  good  books,  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  good  tutor. 

They  enjoyed  each  other's  company  and  their 
studies  so  well  that  they  did  not  attend  many  of 
the  parties  during  the  winter,  and  did  not  meet 
many  people.  They  had  been  with  Evelyn  and 
Lily  quite  often,  and  had  talked  over  the  loss  of 
their  mother  and  the  disappearance  of  James 
many  times,  and  had  sought  to  console  them. 

For  some  unknown  cause  the  members  of  the 
priesthood  had  been  unusually  kind  to  Adrian 
and  Lola  and  their  parents.  They  did  not  exact 
so  much  tithing.  The  dignitaries  called  oftener 
than  in  former  times.  Zina  and  her  workers 
made  it  convenient  to  call  at  their  homes  often. 
She  exerted  her  influence,  as  they  thought,  in 
their  behalf.  It  was  so  marked  a  change  that 
they  could  not  understand  the  cause. 

When  Margaret  left,  each  family  suffered  their 
old  time  oppression  from  the  leaders,  for  a  time. 

143 


144  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

The  fact  that  they  did  not  like  the  plurality,  and 
had  accompanied  Margaret  to  the  stage  station, 
was  simply  horrible  in  the  eyes  of  these  divines. 

A  very  few  days  elapsed  after  the  disappear- 
ance of  Evelyn,  before  it  was  known  to  most 
of  the  members  of  the  church  in  the  Garden  City, 
outside  of  the  members  of  the  priesthood  who 
were  present.  The  facts  connected  with  the 
humiliation  of  the  poor  girl  were  too  horrible  to 
nieet  the  approval  even  of  those  who  believed 
in  the  blood  atonement.  The  more  moderate  and 
liberal  miifded  members  had  a  little  rest  from 
oppression,  as  the  brethren  of  the  local  priest- 
hood had  sufficient  upon  their  hands,  that  of  try- 
ing to  quell  the  rising  tempest  that  was  threaten- 
ing. The  agitation  grew  to  such  extent  that  even 
the  serfs,  so  to  speak,  denounced  the  proceedings 
of  bringing  the  heart-broken  girl  before  the  meet- 
ing, stripped  of  her  clothing,  for  the  purpose  of 
humiliating  her  into  submission,  as  being  an  out- 
rage and  a  scandal.  Threats  of  violence  were 
made  against  all  concerned  in  the  diabolical  work. 
It  was  apparent  to  all  that  such  outrages  would 
drive  many  to  apostasy.  Blatherskite  was  de- 
nounced on  every  hand  by  all  who  were  not 
closely  connected  with  the  leadership ;  while  some 
jestingly  said,  "It  is  old  Zina  pulling  the  strings 
to  her  jumping-jack. " 

These  were  the  conditions  that  existed  at  the 
Garden  City  when  the  general  conference  of  the 
church  met  at  Zion,  in  April,  1869.     These  con- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I45 

ditions  demanded  and  received  special  attention 
of  the  secret  session  of  the  general  priesthood,  in 
its  most  solemn  deliberations.  A  special  revela- 
tion was  received,  justifying  the  deed,  which  had 
caused  so  much  commotion.  This  revelation  was 
transmitted  to  the  Garden  City  by  three  of  its 
head  leaders,  as  soon  as  the  conference  adjourned. 

Within  an  hour  after  the  arrival  of  these  divines 
at  the  Garden  City,  things  changed  from  a  war- 
like appearance  to  perfect  peace.  It  was  a  calm 
after  a  storm.  Evelyn's  name  was  never  men- 
tioned again,  only  in  the  most  secret  manner. 
Adrian  and  Lola  and  their  parents  never  became 
reconciled  to  the  horrible  deed,  but  knowing  the 
danger  of  speaking  the  sentiment  of  their  hearts, 
they  kept  silent. 

The  Union  Pacific  Railway  was  being  rapidly 
pushed  into  Ogden,  and  many  Gentiles  were 
coming  into  the  Territory ;  therefore  the  days  for 
such  dark  crimes  being  kept  out  of  the  courts 
were  nearing  the  end. 

The  leaders  from  the  general  conference  re- 
mained in  Provo  until  the  next  Sunday,  at  which 
time  the  quarterly  conference  for  this  stake  was 
held. 

At  this  conference  the  machinery  of  the  stake 
was  again  put  into  perfect  working  order. 
Everything  that  had  been  done  at  the  general 
conference  was  duly  ratified  by  unanimous  vote. 

The  next  order  of  business  was  the  vote  to  sus- 
tain the  officers  of  this  stake,  and  to  ratify  their 

10 


146  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

work  for  the  past  quarter.  The  vote  was  unan- 
imous, except  that  of  the  Allisons,  Walthams 
and  five  others,  who  did  not  vote ;  they  did  not 
dare  to  vote  in  the  negative.  Up  to  this  time 
there  had  never  been  a  member  of  the  church 
who  dared  vote  against  any  question  submitted 
to  them  by  the  leaders. 

For  refusing  to  vote,  this  little  band  was  black- 
listed as  subjects  on  whom  the  leaders  should 
afterward  wreak  their  vengeance. 

Under  the  head  of  "work  of  the  foreign  mis- 
sions" for  this  stake,  BodenSeimer  said: — 

"I  desire  to  read  a  letter  from  my  son  Martin. 
This  is  a  matter  which  gives  me  great  pleasure, 
I  am  glad  that  I  have  lived  until  I  can  stand 
before  you  and  announce  unto  you  that  I  have  a 
son  in  the  mission  field.  You  all  know  that  my 
son  Martin  is  on  a  mission  in  England.  That  you 
may  know  the  good  work  that  he  is  doing,  I  will 
read  his  letter  to  you." 

^'Islington,  London,  England,  March  5,  1869. 

My  dear  Parents:  As  I  wrote  you  in  a  former 
letter,  we  arrived  here  from  the  head-mission  at 
Liverpool,  on  December  20th,  and  at  once  began 
the  good  work  for  the  building  up  of  Zion.  My 
mind  is  thoroughly  absorbed  in  my  field  of  labor. 
To  work  for  the  Lord  and  his  church  is  a  pleasure 
which  should  inspire  the  most  derelict  of  our 
faith.  I  have  made  my  work,  thus  far,  in  the 
form  of  lectures  upon  morality  and  virtue.  I 
think  the  subject  best  suited  to  my  inclinations 
and  disposition.  When  I  arrived  here,  I  was 
grieved  beyond  measure  to  note  so  much  licen- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I47 

tiousness  among  the  English  people.  Then  I 
concluded  that  the  subject  I  have  selected  is  a 
good  theme.  These  people  are  sadly  in  need  of 
being  elevated  to  a  higher  plane,  in  this  regard, 
and  I  have  preached  it  with  telling  effect.  Many 
have  joined  us  by  reason  of  this  alone.  Some 
have  said  to  me  that  they  did  not  know  we  taught 
virtue,  but  were  of  the  opinion  that  we  were  a 
band  who  practiced  polygamy  and  all  kinds  of 
cohabiting  crimes.  My  answer  has  invariably 
been  that  our  church  teaches  virtue  and  morality 
in  the  highest  degree,  and  practices  what  it 
preaches.  Of  course,  they  take  my  answer  to 
mean  that  we  do  not  practice  the  blessed  plural- 
ity. I  am  not  responsible  for  any  misunderstand- 
ing that  they  may  glean  from  the  holy  truth.  I 
am  well,  and  in  the  best  of  spirits.  Tell  the  breth- 
ren to  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  continue  the  good 
work.  Your  son, 

Martin." 

About  the  time  this  letter  was  written,  a  little 
girl  of  Martin's  came  to  take  up  her  abode,  dur- 
ing her  short  life,  at  the  home  of  Hyrum  Nolby. 

At  the  close  of  the  reading  of  this  letter,  the 
brethren  united  in  prayer  for  his  special  benei&t, 
that  he  might  keep  up  his  good  work. 

The  deception  displayed  in  Martin's  answers, 
as  to  the  obnoxious  teachings  of  the  Saints,  as 
delineated  in  his  letter,  was  sanctioned  by  the 
priesthood,  and  his  answers  have  been  pointed  to 
many  times  as  models  to  be  followed  by  all  mis- 
sionaries. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

After  the  defeat  that  the  priesthood  met  in  the 
Margaret  Baird  affair,  and  the  trouble  that  had 
arisen  from  the  outrage  and  murder  of  Evelyn, 
the  brethren  of  this  stake  decided  to  act  with 
more  caution  in  the  future. 

The  "ungodly  Gentiles"  were  becoming  so 
numerous  that  they  felt  that  the  practice  of  blood 
atonement  should  be  carried  on  in  the  most  secret 
way,  and  that  their  designs  and  plans  must  be 
different  in  all  future  cases.  Already  the  plans 
were  being  laid  with  reference  to  Adrian  and 
Lola,  and,  by  all  means,  they  must  be  a  success; 
hence  the  movements  of  the  priesthood  must  be 
very  subtle.  They  had  learned  that  the  reported 
engagement  of  the  young  couple  was  a  mistake ; 
but  all  expected  that  they  might  become  engaged 
at  any  time,  when  they  would  be  expected  to 
apply  for  a  recommend.  Until  they  should  apply 
for  their  recommend,  everything  must  be  done 
that  would  tend  to  throw  them  off  their  guard. 

Zina  was  instructed  to  put  them  to  the  front 
on  all  occasions  possible.  She  had  secured  the 
co-operation  of  the  prophet  and  President  Boden- 
heimer.  This  trio  really  wished  that  the  young 
couple  would  enter  the  plurality.  Zina,  however, 
was  playing  a  double  part.  She  resolved  to  pre- 
tend to  Adrian,  at  the  proper  time,  that  she  was 
favorable  to  his  marrying  Lola,  without  taking 
148 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  149 

another.  She  would  strive  in  every  way  to 
gain  his  firm  friendship;  then  she  could  hope  to 
lead  him  on  until  he  became  entangled  in  the 
meshes  of  her  lustful  design. 

Bishop  Lehman  was  also  plying  a  secret  hand. 
Openly  he  pretended  to  be  in  favor  of  Adrian  tak- 
ing Lola,  provided  he  entered  the  plurality ;  but 
behind  the  scenes  he  had  enlisted  the  services  of 
the  first  and  second  counselors  of  President  Bo- 
denheimer,  who  had  considerable  influence  over 
the  young  couple,  to  advise  them,  if  they  showed 
signs  of  yielding,  to  stand  out  against  the  leader- 
ship and  positively  refuse. 

Owing  to  the  quiet  dissatisfaction  which  the 
leaders  of  this  stake  imagined  existed  among  the 
brethren,  even  after  the  pacifying  conference, 
they  determined  to  do  everything,  for  a  time,  to 
make  every  one  harmonious.  So  in  order  to 
divert  the  minds  of  the  people  from  the  recent 
crimes,  dances,  card  parties,  home  theatricals, 
horse-racing,  pugilistic  combats,  picnics,  ball 
games,  hunting  and  fishing  parties,  were  of  daily 
occurrence.  All  of  these  entertainments,  as  well 
as  everything  else,  was  carried  on  according  to 
revelation.  This  was  kept  prominently  before 
the  people's  gaze;  therefore,  no  one  objected  to 
anything  that  was  carried  on,  if  it  was  in  the 
bounds  of  humanity. 

It  was  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  June  when  the 
most  enjoyable  event  of  the  season  took  place. 
This  was  a  fishing  excursion  to  Bridal- Veil  Falls, 


150  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

where  a  dinner  was  to  be  served,  and  the  fish 
caught  were  to  be  prepared  and  cooked  on  the 
ground,  as  a  part  of  the  picnic  dinner. 

The  young  people  were  to  do  the  fishing,  and 
the  married  people  were  to  fry  the  fish  and  pre- 
pare the  dinner.  The  afternoon  was  to  be  de- 
voted to  dancing,  singing  and  speaking.  A  ladies' 
gold  watch,  diamond  set  case,  and  a  chain  were 
to  be  given,  as  a  prize,  to  the  young  couple  who 
should  bring  in  the  greatest  number  of  fish  of 
their  own  catching,  by  ten  o'clock,  so  that  they 
could  be  prepared  by  the  noon  hour.  The  young 
people  were  to  go  in  couples,  the  young  man  to 
catch  the  fish,  and  the  young  lady  to  help  carry 
them. 

All  the  young  people  were  out  by  four  o'clock 
on  this  morning,  in  order  to  get  the  early  fishing. 
They  were  eager  to  get  started  in  the  contest, 
which  was  a  most  delightful  task.  From  a  mile 
below  the  mouth  of  the  canon,  to  one-half  mile 
above  the  falls,  a  distance  of  six  miles,  the  river 
was  lined  with  the  merry  fishermen  as  soon  as  it 
was  light  enough  to  see. 

Adrian  owned  a  beautiful  pair  of  dark  bay 
horses,  and  a  new  buggy  which  he  used  for  the 
first  time  on  this  occasion.  He  and  his  love  led 
the  party  to  the  canon.  He  drove  to  the  upper 
edge  of  the  picnic  grounds  and  tied  his  team  to 
a  tree. 

At  a  quarter  past  five  o'clock  he  cast  his  first 
fly.     He  fished  from  the  second  bend  above  the 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  151 

falls  down  to  the  falls.  He  was  an  expert  at 
trout  fishing,  and  could  cast  a  fly  to  perfection. 
No  sooner  had  his  first  fly  touched  the  water  than 
a  trout  struck  the  hook,  and  a  moment  later  it 
was  safe  in  Lola's  basket;  and  by  the  time  they 
reached  the  falls,  two  hours  later,  they  had  forty- 
two  of  the  speckled  beauties.  He  had  waded  the 
stream  most  of  the  time,  and  was  now  near  the 
center  of  the  river,  the  water  dashing  almost  to 
the  top  of  his  hip  boots.  There  was  a  deep  and 
dangerous  hole  just  below  him,  which  he  could 
not  pass,  while  in  or  near  the  stream.  Suddenly 
a  mighty  stroke  came  against  his  hook,  almost 
wresting  the  split  bamboo  rod  from  his  grasp. 
This,  with  the  surging  water,  caused  him  to  sway 
with  the  force  and  almost  lose  his  footing.  Before 
he  gained  his  steadiness,  and  had  time  to  give  it 
line,  the  rod  was  bent  nearly  double.  He  gave 
it  line,  still  holding  a  firm  rod  against  it.  Down 
the  swift  stream  the  fish  darted  with  such  rapidity, 
that  the  reel  hissed  a  sharp  spinning  sound.  Fifty 
feet  of  line  had  unwound — a  hundred — a  hundred 
and  fifty — still  the  fish  ran  against  the  pressure 
of  the  rod,  as  if  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  his 
flight.  There  was  but  fifty  feet  left  on  the  reel. 
If  it  should  keep  steadily  on  to  the  end  of  the  line, 
the  fish  and  the  splendid  tackle  would  surely  be 
lost.  Still  the  trout  sped  on ;  one  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  was  now  out ;  oji  it  went ;  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five — ninety;  suddenly  the  cov- 
eted prize  turned  up  the  stream  toward  him.     He 


152  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

now  felt  that  he  was  master  of  the  situation ;  but 
to  keep  the  pressure  of  the  hook  in  its  mouth  he 
must  not  allow  the  line  to  slacken.  He  wound  it 
up  as  fast  as  his  right  hand  could  turn  the  reel, 
gradually  moving  up  the  stream,  as  he  slowly 
raised  the  rod  above  his  head.  On  it  came,  until 
within  a  few  feet,  when  at  sight  of  him,  it  in- 
stantly turned  and  down  the  stream  again  it  went, 
with  apparently  as  much  energy  as  before.  As  it 
neared  the  hundred  feet,  moving  against  the 
strong  line,  it  changed  its  course  up  the  stream 
again.  Five  times  it  made  the  dash  down  the 
stream,  each  time  the  distance  being  shorter. 
Then  Adrian  moved  toward  the  shore,  and  pulled 
the  fish  close  to  him ;  but  as  he  started  to  put  his 
hand  into  its  gill  away  it  went  again.  Again  he 
snubbed  it  up,  only  to  repeat  the  effort ;  but  on 
pulling  it  in  the  third  time,  the  fish  lay  perfectly 
limp  until  Adrian  got  his  hand  securely  in  its  gill. 
On  raising  the  fish  from  the  water,  it  made  its 
final  struggle,  throwing  the  water  above  his  head. 
The  fight  with  the  ten-pounder  had  been  gained 
only  by  the  greatest  skill.  The  sunlight  of  the 
early  morning  gave  everything  a  charming 
appearance.  He  turned  to  Lola,  with  the  trophy 
held  high,  that  she  might  see.  She  clapped  her 
hands  with  delight.  As  he  looked  at  her,  he  was 
enchanted  with  the  scene.  The  sun's  rays, 
streaming  through  the  canon,  struck  the  mossy 
bank  on  which  she  was  standing;  the  rising  hills 
clothed  in  green,   the  blooming  flowers,  the  dash- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I53 

ing  water,  was  a  picture  not  easily  forgotten. 
He  came  to  the  shore  at  once,  hanging  the  fish 
and  basket  on  a  limb,  and  setting  his  rod  at  the 
foot  of  the  tree.  He  and  Lola  then  walked  arm 
in  arm  to  a  tree,  which  forked  near  the  ground, 
one  branch  shooting  out  almost  horizontally  for  a 
short  distance,  then  growing  upright.  It  was 
close  to  the  water's  edge;  here  they  seated  them- 
selves, and  Adrian  said : — 

"Dear  Lola,  wading  and  fishing  with  so  much 
zeal,  together  with  early  rising,  has  fatigued  me 
somewhat.  We  will  take  a  rest  even  if  we  are 
beaten  in  the  race.'* 

'*I  will  warrant  we  are  victorious;  we  have 
forty-two  already,  and  in  such  short  time.  I  was 
wild  with  excitement,  when  you  were  working 
with  the  last  one.  Isn't  he  a  beauty,  as  large  a 
trout  as  I  ever  saw.  I  greatly  feared  that  you 
would  lose  him  in  that  wild,  dashing  rapid.  " 

**  Your  speaking  of  losing  the  prize  in  that  wild, 
dashing  stream,  reminds  me  of  our  hopes  and 
fears  in  life.  In  many  respects  our  lives  are  like 
a  turbulent  stream,  in  which,  oftentimes,  the 
most  precious  jewels  are  lost.  As  I  raised  my 
eyes  and  looked  at  you,  when  I  lifted  that  large 
trout  from  the  stream,  such  charming  beauty 
and  lovely  expression  met  my  gaze,  as  I  shall 
not  forget.  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation 
longer,  of  coming  to  your  side  and  telling  you 
the  feelings  of  my  heart.  You  were  anxious  for 
me  to  land  that  beautiful  trout;  so  was  I.     We 


154  A'HE    FALSE     STAR. 

now  realize  our  full  hopes  and  desires  with 
reference  to  this.  Let  us  trust  that  all  our  hopes 
of  happiness  may  be  realized  as  this  has  been. ' ' 

There  was  a  silence.  Presently  he  continued : 
"This  scenery  is  sublime,  and  the  day  is  won- 
derful. ' '  Then  laying  his  arm  gently  around  her, 
for  the  first  time,  he  drew  her  more  closely  to 
him,  as  he  said : — 

*'0,  Lola!  My  darling  love!  There  is  one 
object  on  which  my  heart  is  set,  which,  for  a  long 
time,  has  filled  my  breast.  It  is  the  longing  of 
my  heart  for  the  day  to  come  when  I  can  call  you 
wife.  Dearest  one,  may  I  know  from  your  sweet 
lips,  that  this  hope  will  sometime  be  realized?" 

She  laid  her  beautiful  head  upon  his  shoulder, 
as  the  tears  stood  in  her  eyes,  and  said : — 

* '  O,  Adrian !  I  love  you  with  all  my  life,  and 
can  never  love  another ;  I  am  yours  for  time  and 
eternity ! ' ' 

They  were  again  silent.  The  reflection  of  the 
sunlight  through  the  mist,  which  arose  from  the 
falls,  dashing  from  the  opposite  cliffs,  cast  a  mel- 
low light  beneath  the  deep  shade  where  they  sat, 
softening  the  tints  of  her  charming  countenance, 
rendering  her  surpassingly  beautiful.  Kissing 
her  forehead  repeatedly,  he  said: — 

"Dearest  and  adored  one,  your  answer  has 
filled  my  soul  with  happiness. ' ' 

He  paused,  unable  to  utter  another  word  from 
excessive  emotion ;  the  beating  of  each  heart  told 
the   old   story,    louder  than   words.      The   only 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  155 

sounds  heard  were  the  vibrating  roar  of  the  cata- 
ract, beyond  the  Timpanogos,  mingled  with  the 
rippling  and  rushing  of  its  waters ;  the  songs  of 
the  birds,  and  the  morning  zephyrs  gently  whis- 
pering through  the  boughs.  In  the  midst  of  these 
surroundings  they  gazed  intently  at  the  dashing 
stream,  in  deep  meditation  over  the  delicate  and 
pure  relationship  borne  between  a  true  husband 
and  one  loving  wife. 

It  was  but  a  short  time,  when  another  young 
couple  came  in  sight,  at  the  bend  above  where 
they  sat,  but  on  the  opposite  shore.  The  young 
man  had  hooked  a  four-pounder,  but  not  knowing 
how  to  handle  so  large  a  fish  with  a  light  fly  rod, 
it  was  gradually  taking  him  down  the  stream. 
The  love  scene  was  over,  for  the  present,  as  they 
were  soon  filled  with  excitement,  and  cheered  the 
young  couple  heartily  when  the  young  man 
finally  landed  his  fish  in  safety,  almost  opposite 
the  spot  where  they  stood.  Adrian  took  his  rod 
and  again  resumed  his  fishing.  When  he  and 
Lola  came  into  camp,  just  as  the  old  folks  were 
assembling,  at  a  quarter  of  ten  o'clock,  and  the 
fish  were  all  counted,  it  was  found  that  Adrian 
and  Lola  had  brought  in  a  considerable  number 
more  than  any  other  couple. 

There  were  nearly  four  thousand  Saints  at  the 
picnic,  and  all  feasted  sumptuously.  The  dinner 
was  splendid  and  every  one  enjoyed  it  immensely. 
The  leaders  held  out  the  idea  that  the  great 
number  of  fish  caught  was  miraculous,  and  brought 


156  THE    FALSE    StAR. 

about  by  their  earnest  solicitations  at  the  throne 
of  grace,  insisting  that  the  large  fish,  caught  by 
Adrian,  could  never  have  been  landed  with  an 
eight-ounce  fly  rod,  without  the  aid  of  a  divine 
hand.  Many  of  the  boys,  however,  protested 
that  they  could  do  equally  well,  at  any  time,  when 
conditions  were  favorable,  if  they  were  to  work 
as  hard  as  they  had  that  morning. 

The  first  thing  on  the  program  after  dinner  was 
prayer,  followed  by  the  presentation  of  the  prize 
to  the  winning  couple.  President  Bodenheimer 
arose  and  called  Adrian  and  Lola  to  the  stand, 
addressing  them  as  he  held  the  beautiful  time- 
keeper in  his  hand. 

"My  young  friends,  by  the  zeal  and  energy  yoti 
have  displayed  on  this  occasion,  )^ou  have  won 
this  beautiful  prize.  I  cannot  do  otherwise  than 
congratulate  you  on  your  great  success,  and  to  say 
to  you.  Sister  Lola,  that  the  knack  displayed  by 
your  companion  proves  him  to  be  possessed  of 
much  zeal  and  energy,  and  indicates  that  he  will 
succeed  in  life,  and  further  demonstrates  that 
he  will  be  able  to  maintain  you  well,  even  if  he 
should  be  good  enough  to  take  unto  himself  a 
number  of  wives.  To  you,  my  young  brother,  I 
desire  to  say  that  if  you  prove  as  successful  in  the 
matrimonial  field  as  you  are  in  catching  the 
speckled  beauties,  you  will,  indeed,  prove  yourself 
most  worthy  of  exaltation.  I  now  have  the  su- 
preme pleasure  of  presenting  to  you  this  beauti- 
ful time-keeper.     May  you  have  joy  in  the  con- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I57 

scious  feeling  that  it  was  merited  in  an  honorable 
contest." 

This  said,  he  placed  the  watch  and  chain  in 
Adrian's  hand,  both  gracefully  bowing  their  grate- 
ful acknowledgments.     Adrian  then  replied, — 

"We  are  thankful  for  the  charming  gift,  and 
will  ever  prize  it  highly ;  as  we  note  the  hour  from 
the  register  on  its  face,  in  the  future,  our  minds 
will  ever  revert  to  this  happy  day. 

**In  answer  to  your  remarks  about  a  number  of 
wives,  I  am  quite  sure  that,  if  I  should  be  so  for- 
tunate as  to  get  one  wife,  I  shall  be  the  happiest 
man  on  earth.  It  is  not  quantity  I  desire,  but 
quality.  I  am  well  satisfied  with  the  quality  of 
the  one  I  have  in  mind. 

"We  are  very  grateful  to  you,  sir,  and,  also,  to 
our  many  friends  for  this  manifestation  of  kind- 
ness." 

Every  woman  present,  who  was  living  in  the 
plurality,  took  the  unguarded  remark  of  Adrian, 
where  he  spoke  of  "quality  and  not  quantity" 
that  he  desired,  as  being  a  direct  thrust  at  herself. 

Some  grew  so  desperate  about  it  that  it  was 
only  through  the  influence  of  Zina  and  the  leaders 
being  brought  to  bear,  that  a  disgraceful  scene 
was  averted.  The  priesthood  were  more  deter- 
mined than  ever  that  he  should  be  brought  to 
time,  at  the  proper  period  in  the  game,  as  they 
termed  it,  because  of  this  rebuke,  which  was  not 
intended  in  that  way.  If  President  Bodenheimer 
had  not  taken  what  he  conceived  to  be  a  golden 


158  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Opportunity  to  commit  Adrian  to  the  plurality, 
Adrian  would  never  have  spoken  as  he  did;  but 
thinking  that  silence  would  indicate  consent,  he 
was  determined  to  let  them  know  then  and  there 
his  stand. 

Next  on  the  program  was  a  song  by  a  male 
quartet,  which  was  rendered  beautifully,  and  was 
enjoyed  by  all. 

Next  was  a  speech  by  one  of  the  twelve  apostles, 
from  Zion,  on  the  question  of  statehood  for  Utah. 

"My  brethren: 

"I  desire  to  talk  to  you,  this  day,'about  some  of 
the  ills  that  have  been  thrust  upon  the  Saints,  by 
our  enemies ;  and,  further,  to  speak  of  the  glo- 
rious prospects  that  are  at  hand,  for  us  to  be  freed 
from  the  shackles  that  have  always  bound  us 
down,  by  being  a  part  of  this  accursed  govern- 
ment. 

"The  Saints  have  been  persecuted  in  the 
past  by  every  contemptible  bigot  in  the  land.  In 
1849,  we,  the  chosen  people  of  God,  prepared  a 
good  constitution  for  this  territory  to  become  a 
state,  under  the  name  of  the  state  of  Deseret. 
We  adopted  the  constitution,  by  unanimous 
action,  and  forwarded  it  to  Washington,  together 
with  a  petition,  praying  that  we  might  become  a 
sovereign  state.  Think  of  the  humiliation — the 
sad  spectacle  of  the  anointed  people  of  God,  driven 
to  the  dire  extremity  of  being  compelled  to  ask 
favors  of  a  viper  nation  of  earth.  In  the  face  of 
this  spectacle,  the  infernal  machine  called  a  gov- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I59 

eminent,  run  by  a  pack  of  demagogues,  abso- 
lutely, rejected  our  solemn  petition.  Not  only 
that,  but  they  reduced  our  territory  by  taking 
off  enough  land  to  make  two  or  three  other  states. 

"We  do  not  care  to  belong  to  the  contemptible 
old  hulk  of  a  highway-robbing  nation;  but,  as 
our  land  is  a  part  of  it,  we  must  become  a  state, 
in  order  to  preserve  our  most  sacred  rights.  Al- 
ready have  they  passed  laws  against  the  sacred 
practice  of  the  plurality;  but,  thank  God,  they 
have  been  utterly  unable  to  enforce  the  same,  and 
they  shall  never  enforce  them  here.     (Cheers.) 

"If  we  get  the  bliss  of  statehood  we  can  do  as 
we  please  in  all  things.  We  will  elect  our  own 
officers,  pass  our  own  laws,  and  do  all  things 
according  to  the  plans  of  Joseph,  as  given  to  him 
by  divine  revelation.     (Cheers.) 

"When  Speaker  Colfax,  Governor  Bross,  of  Illi- 
nois; Hon.  Samuel  Bowie  of  the  Springfield  Re- 
publican^ and  Albert  D.  Richardson,  the  author, 
were  here  in  Utah  a  few  years  since,  Prophet 
Brigham,  in  company  with  some  of  the  rest  of  us, 
had  a  conversation  with  them.  Mr.  Colfax  then 
said  to  the  prophet,  *  As  long  as  you  practice  polyg- 
amy you  may  expect  the  continued  disapproval  of 
the  government.  There  is  no  other  objection  to 
the  admission  of  Utah  as  a  state. ' 

"Brother  Young  then  asked,  'If  we  could  or 
should  surrender  polygamy,  would  not  your  people 
then  go  on  and  insist  on  our  giving  up  our  form 
of  church  government,  and  many  other  things?' 


l6o  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

'*Then  Mr.  Colfax  gave  us  positively  to  under- 
stand that  they  would  not.  My  brethren,  Presi- 
dent Young  has  had  a  revelation  to  fit  this  case, 
and  we  have  framed  a  constitution,  absolutely 
prohibiting  the  practice  for  all  time.  Of  course, 
you  all  understand  that  it  is  simply  a  promise  on 
paper  to  get  in  on,  and  then  we  can  do  as  we  please 
about  everything.  (Great  cheering  and  cries, 
**That's  right,  that's  right.") 

**It  has  been  prophesied  many  times  by  the 
Prophets  Brigham  and  Joseph,  that  the  Saints 
would,  at  some  day,  become  the  rulers  of  this  land, 
and  that  the  Gentiles  would  come  running  and 
begging  to  be  our  servants.  I  heard  the  Prophet 
Brigham  as  he  spoke,  by  divine  command,  say 
*that  there  are  high  officers  in  the  United  States 
government  that  would  make  good  servants,  and 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States  will,  yet, 
black  my  shoes.  *     (Great  cheering. ) 

*' Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  O  my  people,  that 
these  things  must  and  will  come  to  pass !  (Thun- 
derous applause  and  shouts  of  *' That's  right, 
that's  right.'*) 

"My  brethren,  one  of  the  means  in  the  hands  of 
the  Lord  to  bring  about  this  glorious  result,  is  for 
us  to  secure  statehood  for  our  fair  territory,  and 
it  shall  be  in  the  name  of  Deseret,  for  so  the 
prophet  has  spoken  many  times. 

'*As  to  the  constitution  we  have  adopted,  some 
may  say,  'It  is  wrong  to  say  one  thing  in  that 
document  and  practice  or  mean  another.  *    Ah !  my 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  l6l 

brethren,  when  you  are  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  plan  of  the  Lord,  no  such  evil  thoughts 
will  ever  enter  into  your  minds.  If  the  work  is 
for  the  Lord,  it  is  right  to  lie  or  steal,  if  this  be 
the  only  way  by  which  you  can  advance  the  holy 
cause :  besides,  we  must  fight  the  devil  with  fire, 
and  I  say  unto  you,  my  brethren,  that  this  so- 
called  nation  and  its  law  makers  are  made  up 
of  a  band  of  devils  in  human  shape,  'who  will 
not  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  *  (Loud 
cheering  and  cries  *'hear,  hear.")  Would  to  the 
powers  above  that  it  had  been  destroyed  during 
the  days  of  the  rebellion.     (Cheers. ) 

"In  order  to  convert  them  to  the  truth,  and  show 
them  the  right  we  will  be  compelled  to  reduce 
them  to  slavery,  and  then,  as  they  begin  to  see 
the  right,  we  can  raise  them  up  gradually  in  the 
holy  ways  of  the  Lord.  Statehood  is  the  sacred 
door  through  which  we  must  travel,  in  order  to 
bring  about  this  hold  condition :  therefore,  let  come 
what  will,  statehood  must  be  realized:  then  we 
will  avenge  the  blood  of  the  martyred  prophet 
Joseph  and  his  brother  Hyrum.  (Cheers  and  cries, 
"We  will,  we  will.")  Then  let  us  buckle  on  the 
armor  of  the  Lord  and  go  forth  to  vanquish  our 
foes,  and  let  the  Lord  rule  upon  earth  through 
his  holy  priesthood.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you  that 
whosoever  falters  in  this  glorious  work  shall  fall 
by  the  wayside.     (Cheers.) 

"If  all  the  leaders  of  Zion  were  here  to-day  they 
would  heartily  endorse  every  word  that  I  have 

u 


l62  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Spoken;  for  we  have  had  this  matter  up,  many 
times,  in  the  high  counsel  of  the  general  priest- 
hood meetings,  and  there,  under  the  divine  guid- 
ance, we  so  decided  to  act  by  unanimous  vote. ' ' 
(Immense  cheering.) 
The  congregation  then  sang  the, — 

"battle  hymn  of  the  mormon  theocracy." 

"In  thy  mountain  retreat,  God  will  strengthen  thy  feet; 
On  the  necks  of  thy  foes  thou  shalt  tread; 
And  their  silver  and  gold,  as  the  prophets  have  told, 
Shall  be  brought  to  adorn  thy  fair  head.  • 

O  Zion !  dear  Zion !  home  of  the  free. 
Soon  thy  towers  will  shine  with  a  splendor  divine, 
And  eternal  thy  glory  shall  be. 

"Here  our  voices  we'll  raise,  and  we'll  sing  to  thy  praise. 
Sacred  home  of  the  prophet  of  God ; 
Thy  deliverance  is  nigh,  thy  oppressors  shall  die, 
And  the  Gentiles  shall  bow  'neath  thy  rod. 
O  Zion !  dear  Zion !  home  of  the  free. 
In  thy  temples  we'll  bend,  all  thy  rights  we'll  defend, 
And  our  home  shall  be  ever  with  thee." 

The  next  on  the  program  was  a  speech  by  Bod- 
enheimer  on  the  same  subject  and  along  the  lines 
of  the  former  speaker.  Then  the  gathering  sang 
another  war  song,  entitled : — 

"Up,  Awake,  Ye  Defenders  of  Zion." 

The  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  chiefly  in 
dancing,  in  which  all  above  the  age  of  eight  years 
took  part.  The  crowd  dispersed  about  seven 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

It  is  a  delightful  drive  at  this  time  of  the  day 
from  Bridal- Veil  Falls  to  the  Garden  City. 


CHAPTER  .XVII. 

The  remainder  of  the  summer  passed  without 
anything  of  great  importance  happening  in  the 
Garden  City,  except  the  continuation  of  the  games 
and  sports.  The  Allisons  and  Walthams  could 
scarcely  account  for  the  good  treatment  they 
received  at  the  hands  of  Zina  and  the  local  lead- 
ers. Adrian  and  Lola  were  made  the  leading 
couple  wherever  they  went.  They  had  spent  all 
the  time  to  themselves  that  they  could.  Many 
pleasant  days  they  had  spent  together,  in  reading 
good  books,  rowing  on  the  lake,  driving  far  and 
wide,  taking  moonlight  strolls  far  down  the  long 
rows  of  stately  poplars,  which  stood  as  silent  sen- 
tinels to  keep  vigil  o'er  the  sleeping  Saints,  or 
angling  for  the  spreckled  beauties  along  the 
crystal  streams,  far  back  in  the  different  canons. 

Adrian  had  become  interested  in  the  mining 
business  to  some  extent.  He  had  watched  the 
movements  of  his  good  friend,  Vernon  Stanton, 
who  was,  perhaps,  the  best  mining  man  in  the 
whole  inter-mountain  country. 

Mr.  Stanton  could  do  anything  in  connection 
with  gold  and  silver  mining  from  pushing  a  wheel- 
barrow to  superintending  or  experting  a  mine, 
and  had  been  very  successful  while  at  Virginia 
City,  on  the  Comstock.  He  was  now  beginning 
operations  at  what  was  to  be  one  of  the  best  min- 
ing regions  of  the  world. 

163 


164  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Adrian  had  heard  of  the  magnificent  fortunes 
that  men  oftentimes  made  on  short  order  at  this 
attractive  business,  and  longed  to  reap  a  harvest 
of  this  character  at  some  future  day  himself;  to 
this  end  he  had  made  several  prospecting  trips 
in  company  with  Mr.  Stanton. 

The  time  for  the  semi-annual  conference  of  the 
church  was  at  hand.  It  was  to  convene  at  Zion 
on  the  sixth  day  of  October.  Adrian  and  Lola 
had  never  attended  but  two  general  conferences; 
in  fact,  their  parents  seldom  cared  to  go  on  ac- 
count of  the  treatment  they  received  at  the  hands 
of  the  members  of  the  priesthood,  because  of 
their  lack  of  harmony  with  the  brethren  on  the 
one  paramount  distinction  of  the  Saints.  On 
account  of  the  kind  treatment  they  had  all  re- 
ceived during  this  summer,  they  felt  that  they 
would  enjoy  going  to  this  general  gathering.  The 
parents  and  Willy  were  to  go  in  one  vehicle  and 
Adrian  and  Lola  were  to  go  in  his  buggy  and 
drive  his  favorite  team. 

On  the  morning  before  the  first  day  of  confer- 
ence they  all  started  for  Zion.  The  young  couple 
were  glad  to  get  out  on  the  road,  and  they  sped 
along  over  the  good  roads  as  swiftly  as  the  wind. 
All  along  the  route  were  camp  fires,  yet  smoking, 
where  Saints  had  camped  the  night  before ;  some 
were  just  moving  on,  while  many  had  already 
got  well  under  way,  when  the  happy  couple 
swept  swiftly  by.  At  the  beginning  of  the  trip 
Adrian  and  Lola  traveled  at  twice  the  speed  as 


THE    FAI-SE    STAR.  165 

did  their  parents,  but,  as  they  neared  the  great 
city  of  the  Saints,  the  crowds  poured  into  the 
main  road  from  all  directions,  and  the  increased 
number  of  campers  made  fast  traveling  next  to 
impossible. 

As  they  were  passing  through  the  Jordan  Nar^ 
rows,  Adrian  turned  the  conversation  from  the 
question  of  love  and  planning  for  the  future  to 
the  scenes  of  nature  around  them,  and  said: — 

"The  physical  features  of  this  basin  are  very 
similar  to  those  at  Palestine,  the  Holy  Land,  or 
home  of  the  Saviour,  chosen  by  our  Heavenly 
Father.  Often  has  my  mind  dwelt  upon  it. 
What  a  grand  panoramic  view  can  be  seen  from 
yonder  height,  which  you  see  to  the  east.  Look- 
ing south  we  see  one  of  the  most  beautiful  val- 
leys that  is  CO  be  found  amid  the  towering  Rockies. 
Its  fields  are  the  most  fertile  of  any  in  this  broad 
land.  Along  the  western  side  lays  the  beautiful 
Utah  lake,  which  I  shall  liken  to  the  Sea  of  Gal- 
ilee, where  Jesus  wrought  so  many  miracles,  in 
order  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  and  power  of 
his  Father's  holy  name.  It  was  there  that  Simon, 
James  and  John  made  the  miraculous  draft  of 
fishes  under  the  guidance  of  the  Master.  I  have 
often  wondered  if  the  fish  they  caught  were  as 
delicious  to  the  taste  and  as  beautiful  to  sight  as 
our  spreckled  trout  are.  The  similarity  of  the  two 
countries  is  very  striking.  The  river  Jordan 
flows  from  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  empties  its  con- 
tents into  the   Dead  sea  of  the  old  world.      Our 


l66  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Jordan  river  flows  from  Utah  lake  and  empties 
into  the  Dead  sea  of  the  new  world,  Great  Salt 
Lake.  There  seems  to  be  a  design  in  this  to  me. 
I  have  heard  our  leaders  say,  many  times,  that  in 
addition  to  those  things  which  prove  our  religion 
to  be  absolutely  true  beyond  controversy,  that  this 
is  another  proof.  There  certainly  is  a  design  in 
it  all,  coming  from  on  High,  the  plan  being  that 
the  Latter  Day  Saints,  or  the  chosen  people  of 
God,  should  inhabit  a  country  similar  in  condition 
and  appearance  to  that  which  was  inhabited  by 
his  chosen  people  in  ancient  times ;  for  our  di- 
vines all  tell  us  that  they  were  led  here  by  the 
hand  of  God.  Did  you  ever  think  of  this  matter 
seriously?" 

''Many  times,  and  I  had  my  conclusions  some- 
what upset  at  one  time,  when  expressing  the  same 
sentiments  you  have  just  mentioned." 

"How  was  that,  Lola?" 

*'On  one  occasion  I  drew  this  picture  and  elab- 
orated upon  it,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  to  Mr. 
Stanton.  We  were  in  the  library  and  I  took  the 
maps  and  charts  to  illustrate  everything.  I  tried 
to  convert  him  to  the  truth,  for  I  would  like  so 
much  for  that  good  man  to  believe  as  we  do.  I 
then  tried  to  show  him  that  everything  was  the 
same,  including  the  people  and  their  religion,  and 
I  further  tried  to  prove  to  him  that  it  was  de- 
signed by  Him  who  doeth  all  things  well,  when 
he  said  to  me,  *Miss  Lola,  did  it  ever  strike  you 
that  the  conditions  are  the  opposite?     The  Jordan 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  167 

river  of  Palestine  flows  south,  while  the  Jordan 
river  of  Utah  flows  north — the  one  flowing  toward 
the  light,  the  other  toward  the  darkness?'  He 
said  further,  'If  we  use  this  as  an  illustration, 
may  it  not  be  logical  to  conclude  that  our  modern 
brethren  are  traveling  in  an  opposite  direction 
from  that  traveled  by  our  ancient  brethren?  That 
while  they,  of  that  day,  traveled  toward  the  light, 
by  following  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  using 
the  Holy  Bible  as  the  revealed  word  of  God,  our 
modern  Saints  travel  toward  the  place  of  dark- 
ness, by  following  the  teachings  of  Joseph  Smith, 
and  using  the  book  of  Mormon  as  the  revealed 
word  of  God?'  O,  Adrian!  I  cannot  get  away 
from  the  illustrations  and  arguments  that  he 
brings  to  bear,  when  talking  on  the  question  of 
religion ;  and  I  never  refer  to  the  similarities  of 
the  countries  any  more,  to  any  one,  as  tending  in 
any  degree  to  prove  our  position." 

The  conversation  turned  to  other  objects  of 
interest  along  the  road.  The  crowds  were  begin- 
ning to  be  more  numerous;  yet,  on  they  went, 
passing  the  slow-moving  but  ever-increasing  num- 
bers at  every  point  of  vantage. 

When  within  eight  miles  of  the  city  the  throng 
of  moving  humanity,  animals  and  vehicles,  filled 
the  wide  thoroughfare,  so  that  it  became  a  mat- 
ter of  impossibility  to  pass  anything,  so  dense 
was  the  throng.  Every  class  of  vehicles,  such 
as  covered  and  uncovered  wagons,  dog  carts, 
mountain  carts,  buggies,  carriages,  stage  coaches, 


1 68  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

filled  with  Saints  of  all  ages,  sexes  and  sizes,  and 
drawn  by  horses,  mules,  burros  and  oxen,  while 
many  were  on  horseback  and  afoot.  Many  fam- 
ilies had  their  extra  supply  wagon,  loaded  with 
tents,  camping  outfits  and  food  sufficient  for 
themselves  and  horses  while  on  the  trip.  Another 
class  of  loaded  vehicles  was  those  laden  with  one- 
tenth  of  the  people's  products,  as  tithing,  such  as 
lucern,  hay,  pumpkins,  cabbages,  carrots,  pota- 
toes, wheat,  barley  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables  and 
grain,  poultry  "on  foot  and  in  the  shell,"  hogs  on 
foot  and  in  wagons,  sheep  in  small  droves,  cattle 
in  small  bunches — all  uniting  to  form  one  mighty, 
mingled  aggregation.  The  moving  concourse 
stirred  the  deep  dust,  which  arose  in  immense 
clouds  and  at  times  became  stifiing;  then  could 
be  heard  the  wail  of  thirsty  children,  the  vicious 
swearing  of  the  Saints  in  charge  of  the  unruly 
stock,  the  lowing  of  cattle,  the  bleating  of  the 
sheep,  the  neighing  of  the  horses,  the  braying  of 
the  donkeys,  the  gabble  of  the  geese  and  ducks, 
the  creaking  of  the  heavily-loaded  wagons,  blend- 
ing into  one  mighty  discordant  note  of  confusion ; 
still  the  mass  moved  on  with  unabated  zeal  to  the 
sacred  place,  where  they  could  show  by  every 
manifestation  of  enthusiasm  their  devotion  to  the 
teachings  of  Joseph. 

They  finally  arrived  at  Zion  where  they  saw  a 
like  concourse  coming  in  from  the  north  on  the 
main  road.  The  crowds,  from  both  north  and 
south,  were  turning  into  and  filling  the  various 


THE    bALSE    STAR.  1 69 

streets  until  it  made  progress  ver>'  slow.  Finally 
Adrian  and  Lola  reached  the  old  Continental  hotel 
where  they  were  met  by  Mr.  Stanton  and  given 
a  cordial  reception.  He  had  made  arrangements 
that  the  best  apartments  in  the  house  should  be 
reserved  for  the  Allison  and  Waltham  families. 

Adrian  and  Lola  were  glad  to  reach  the  end  of 
the  journey  and  be  relieved  from  the  dust.  It 
was  about  five  o'clock,  in  the  afternoon,  when 
they  reached  the  hotel.  After  the  reception 
mentioned  Mr.  Stanton  said: — 

**My  young  friends,  you  are  very  dusty  and 
seem  greatly  fatigued.  I  fully  expected  you  by 
one  o'clock." 

*'We  would  have  been  here  before  that  hour," 
said  Adrian,  '*but  it  took  us  twelve  hours  to 
make  the  distance  which  should  have  taken  but 
five,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  but  the  im- 
mense throng  on  the  road  impeded  our  progress." 

*'I  presumed  this  was  the  cause.  I  see  that 
the  brethren  are  striking  camp  at  every  place 
where  there  is  a  vacant  spot,  and  the  lodging 
houses  and  homes  are  all  filled  to  overflowing. " 

They  were  then  shown  to  their  apartments, 
where  they  were  glad  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
dust ;  and  rest.  The  parents  arrived  about  an  hour 
later,  and,  after  having  an  hour  to  rest  and  ar- 
range their  toilet,  all  went  to  dinner. 

After  dinner  an  hour  was  spent  in  social  chat; 
but,  as  all  the  arriving  party  were  very  tired  from 
the  long  and  weary  journey,  they  retired  early. 


ffO  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

They  arose  early  the  next  morning,  much  re- 
freshed from  a  good  night's  rest,  and  at  the  hour 
of  the  convening  of  the  great  conference,  they 
were  at  the  tabernacle.  Mr.  Stanton  had  never 
attended  a  conference,  through  its  entire  course, 
but,  through  respect  to  his  friends,  he  accom- 
panied them  wherever  they  chose  to  go  during 
the  four  days  of  their  visit.  They  attended  all  of 
the  sessions  of  the  conference,  except  the  secret 
meetings  of  the  high  council  of  the  holy  priest- 
hood. The  mighty  tabernacle  was  one  mass  of 
humanity  at  each  session,  seating  from  ten  to 
twelve  thousand  people,  while  twice  this  number 
were  unable  to  gain  entrance  but  were  satisfied 
with  the  privilege  of  walking  on  the  holy  ground 
of  Temple  Block,  and  being  so  near  the  harem 
of  their  great  prophet. 

On  the  inside  of  the  tabernacle,  the  space  be- 
side the  great  organ,  the  parquet  and  galleries 
were  filled  with  anxious  auditors;  the  rows  of 
elevated  seats  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit  were 
filled  with  bishops  and  elders  from  outlying  stakes 
of  Zion — about  four  hundred  in  all.  The  four 
long  seats  constituting  the  pulpit  proper  were 
occupied  by  the  first  presidency — Brigham  Young, 
Daniel  H.  Wells  and  George  Q.  Cannon.  The 
twelve  apostles,  the  heads  of  seventies,  the  church 
secretary,  historian  and  local  bishops  also  occupied 
these  seats. 

After  the  meeting  was  called  to  order  the  choir 
sang,— 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I7I 

"My  soul  is  full  of  peace  and  love, 
I  soon  shall  see  Christ  from  above,"  etc 

Apostle   Snow   then  offered  up  prayer,  which 
was  followed  by  the  choir  singing, — 
"Pray  for  the  peace  of  Deseret" 

Apostle  John  Taylor  then  addressed  the  meet- 
ing, which  was  followed  by  the  choir  singing  the 
following  hymn  composed  for  the  occasion  by 
Eliza  R.  Snow,  plural  wife  to  the  prophet  Joseph 
and  later  to  the  prophet  Brigham : — 

"our  prophet,  brigham  young." 

"O  God  of  life  and  glory, 

Hear  Thou  a  people's  prayer, 
Bless,  bless  our  Prophet  Brigham ; 

Let  him  Thy  fullness  share. 
He  is  Thy  chosen  servant 

To  lead  Thine  Israel  forth, 
Till  Zion,  crowned  with  joy,  shall  be 

A  praise  in  all  the  earth. 

"He  draws  from  Christ,  the  fountain 
Of  everlasting  truth. 
The  wise  and  prudent  counsels 
^  Which  he  gives  to  age  and  youth. 

Thyself  in  him  reflected 

Through  mortal  agency. 
He  is  Thy  representative 
To  set  Thy  people  free. 

"Thou  richly  hast  endowed  him 

With  wisdom's  bounteous  store, 
And  Thou  has  made  him  mighty 

By  Thy  own  Almighty  power. 
Oh,  let  his  life  be  precious — 

Bless  Thou  his  brethren,  too, 
Who  firmly  join  him  side  by  side, 

"Who're  true  as  he  is  true. 

"Help  him  to  found  Thy  kingdom 
In  majesty  and  power, 
With  peace  in  every  palace 
And  with  strength  in  every  tower ; 


172  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

And  when  Thy  chosen  Israel 
Their  noblest  strains  have  sung, 

The  swelling  chorus  then  shall  be 
Our  Prophet,  Brigham  Young." 

Then  came  historical  reminiscences  in  the  form 
of  addresses,  each  succeeding  one  growing  more 
bitter  than  the  preceding,  until  finally  Brigham 
arose  and  delivered  one  of  his  course  and  vulgar 
tirades  against  all  who  were  not  of  their  faith. 

The  rest  of  the  conference  was  devoted  to  a 
movement  to  prevent  the  brethren  from  trading 
with  the  "ungodly  Gentiles. " 

Each  succeeding  speaker  seemed  to  try  to  outdo 
his  predecessor  in  his  bitter  and  intemperate  de- 
nunciations of  the  Gentiles  and  apostates. 

Such    language    as    '*d d  apostates,"    was 

freely  indulged  in  by  apostles,  priests  and  presi- 
dents. During  the  prophet's  speech  he  threat- 
ened vengeance  on  the  apostates  and  then  said, 
"I  am  only  sorry  for  one  thing,  that  God  didn't 

tell  us  to  fight  the  d d   mobocrats, "  to  which 

the  great  tortoise  shell  tabernacle  rang  with  many 
voices,  "Amen!  amen!"  The  principal  cause 
of  the  prophet's  regret,  as  expressed,  was  that 
the  government  of  the  United  States  had  sent 
an  army  to  Utah  some  time  before,  which  had 
made  it  possible  for  Gentiles  and  apostates  to 
live  in  Utah  with  any  degree  of  safety. 

When  George  Q.  Cannon  addressed  one  of  the 
later  sessions  of  the  meeting,  he  evidently  tried 
to  exhaust  all  the  vituperative  vocabulary  of  the 
English  language  to  provoke  the  people  to  mob 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  1 73 

violence  without  directly  commanding  it.  The 
bitterness  of  his  spleen  was  directed  toward  a 
Gentile  newspaper,  recently  established,  and  St. 
Mark's  mission  school,  the  only  Gentile  school 
then  in  the  Territory.  He  characterized  the 
school,  **An  institution  of  the  devil,  set  up  in 
Zion,"  and  asked,  '"Shall  such  an  institution  be 
allowed  to  go  and  inoculate  the  minds  of  our 
children  with  its  damnable  and  pernicious  doc- 
trines?' ' 

Then  the  tabernacle  resounded  with  a  tre- 
mendous shout  from  the  multitude,   "No!  no!" 

The  government  of  the  United  States  came  in 
for  some  of  the  vilest  denunciations  from  several 
of  the  speakers,  and  thus  they  went  on  for  a 
period  of  four  days,  one  of  the  last  speakers,  an 
apostle,  closed  his  remarks  by  saying: — 

"Young  sisters,  let  me  speak  a  word  of  advice  to 
you  about  matrimony;  you  should  not  marry 
these  young,  lazy,  reckless  and  good-for-nothing 
chaps.  They  won't  take  care  of  you.  You  just 
come  along  and  marry  us  old  men  who  have 
proved  that  we  can  take  care  of  a  large  family  of 
women  and  children,  and  you  are  sure  never  to 
want." 

The  choir  then  sang  a  song,  and  the  wonderful 
conference  was  over. 

The  time  between  the  sessions  of  conference 
had  been  spent  by  those  from  a  distance  in  laying 
in  their  winter's  supplies.  It  had  been  a  golden 
harvest  for  the  mercantile  establishments  of  the 


174  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

city  of  Zion,  especially  Zion's  co-operative  mer- 
cantile institution,  which  was  owned  by  the  lead- 
ers and  run  according  to  revelation. 

The  crowds  of  people  were  moving  in  every 
direction.  The  conference  closed  about  noon, 
and  all  the  afternoon  was  occupied  in  loading  the 
goods  which  they  had  purchased  and  getting 
started  for  home.  Every  one  seemed  in  a  hurry 
and  anxious  to  leave  at  once. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Allisons  and  Walthams  were  going  to  leave 
the  next  day.  They  had  attended  all  the  sessions 
of  the  meeting  in  company  with  their  good  friend 
Stanton.  Their  hearts  were  heavy  because  of  the 
things  they  had  seen  and  heard.  They  came  to 
the  holy  place  expecting  to  hear  and  see  some- 
thing that  would  advance  them  morally  and  spir- 
itually; but,  instead,  they  had  heard  a  perfect 
tirade  of  abuse  of  all  their  fellow  men,  except 
those  who  were  faithful  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Prophets  Joseph  and  Brigham.  They  had  visited 
several  places  of  interest  during  their  stay ;  but, 
on  the  whole,  the  trip  *vas  a  sad  disappointment ; 
however,  they  resolved  to  keep  it  to  themselves. 
Mr.  Stanton  had  not  mentioned  the  question  of 
religion  to  either  of  them,  but  he  felt  assured 
that  the  proceedings  had  not  met  with  their  ap- 
proval, and  had  not  affected  them,  as  it  had  the 
great  majority  who  were  in  attendance.  After 
the  excitement  of  the  day  had  worn  away  and 
they  had  assembled  at  his  parlor  for  their  final 
social  meeting,  he  ventured  to  mention  the  sub- 
ject of  r^igion  in  connection  with  the  speeches 
delivered  at  the  conference.  He  opened  the  con- 
versation by  saying: — 

"Well,  my  friends,  how  did  you  enjoy  the  con- 
ference, and  especially  the  addresses?" 

175 


176  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Messrs.  Waltham  and  Allison  said,  almost  in  a 
breath: —  . 

**I  haven't  anything  to  say.'* 

This  is  the  usual  response  of  the  Saints  when 
they  disapprove  the  actions  of  the  dignitaries. 
Mrs.  Allison  was  very  outspoken  on  this  occasion, 
and  said: — 

'*I  think  the  whole  proceedings  a  disgraceful 
affair.  It  was  nothing  but  a  tirade  of  abuse  and 
complaint,  from  beginning  to  end.  I  do  wish  that 
our  leaders  would  cease  this  rehashing  of  old 
troubles  at  every  important  meeting  throughout 
Zion.  I  further  wish,  with  all  my  soul,  that  they 
could  see  some  good  in  others,  and,  at  least,  yield 
the  point  that  some  people  in  the  world  have  some 
honesty  of  purpose  outside  of  our  church ;  but  they 
never  will.  'We  are  and  have  always  been  abso- 
lutely right  in  all  our  troubles,  and  those  who 
have  opposed  us  have  been  absolutely  wrong  in  all 
things  of  dispute  between  us;  and  everything  has 
been  oppression,  and  persecution  heaped  upon 
us/  This  is  all  that  our  leaders  harp  on.  I 
am  disgusted  with  it.  I  think  a  very  good  rule 
to  go  by  is  to  say,  'if  I  am  eternally  in  trouble, 
and  brawling  with  my  neighbors,  that  I  am  to 
blame  at  least  one-half  of  the  time.'  This 
thought  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  rhe 
minds  of  those  who  constitute  the  organization 
of  our  church.  To  say  the  least  of  it,  I  didn't 
enjoy  the  meeiings,  ;he  speakings,  not  any  part 
Of  it," 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  177 

**I  liked  it  fine,"  said  Willy:  **I  tell  you,  I 
have  had  a  whizzing  time. ' ' 

** Where  have  you  been  all  the  time,  child? 
We  have  scarcely  seen  you  since  we  reached  the 
city;  only  at  meal  time,  and  when  you  slept, 
have  we  known  your  whereabouts,"  said  his 
mother. 

**0,  I  have  been  having  a  peach  of  a  time." 

**  You  haven't  been  to  the  tabernacle  once,  have 
you?" 

**Well,  I  rather  guess  I  have.  I  have  been  all 
around  the  old  squatter  several  times.  I  tell  you, 
she's  a  hummer  of  a  shanty,  isn't  she?  As  long 
as  a  hundred  goats  standing  in  a  row,  and  a  reg- 
ular old  hog-back — a  red  hog  at  that.  If  I  owned 
the  old  hulk,  I'd  clear  the  long  benches  out  of  the 
center  and  make  a  dog  pen  out  of  it — a  pen  for 
fightin'  dogs.  Whoop-ee!  wouldn't  they  howl 
when  the  big  organ  bellowed." 

'* Willy,  do  hush.  Don't  talk  that  way  about 
the  house  of  the  Lord. ' ' 

**Is  that  the  house  of  the  Lord?  You  shock  me, 
mamma,  I  thought  it  was  the  place  for  the  holy 
prophet  to  rear  and  swear  in.  I  only  looked  in 
once,  as  I  stood  near  one  of  those  old  flap-doodle 
doors  on  the  side,  and  I  heard  him  say  the 
*damned  apostates,'  so  I  thought  I  could  hear  as 
good  cussin'  as  that  on  the  outside.  Some  of  the 
girls  even,  and  especially  the  old  dowdies,  that 
were  on  the  outside,  could  cuss  better  than  that. 
I'll  bet  that  some  of  these  dowdies  around  this 

12 


1 78  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

conference  could  lay  a  cowboy  in  the  shade,  or 
beat  a  bishop  cussin' ;  but  if  you  trot  out  one  of 
those  old  apostles  agin'  um,  then  I'd  flatten,  I've 
had  a  circus  all  the  time,  and  Fve  been  the  ring- 
master part  of  the  time." 

' '  My  son,  you  must  hush ;  I  never  heard  you 
talk  so  ridiculously  before." 

"Let  him  talk,  Mrs.  Allison,  I  enjoy  it.  I  want 
to  know  the  boy's  ideas  of  the  conference,"  said 
Mr.  Stanton. 

"I  am  afraid  he  will  talk  too  much. "  Then 
turning  to  Willy  she  continued,  ' '  I  am  afraid  you 
are  getting  to  be  a  regular  tough,  Willy. ' ' 

"Well,  mamma,  if  such  a  place  as  a  conference 
wouldn't  make  a  boy  tough,  then  I'm  a  rose — a 
speckled  rose  at  that.  If  I  attend  about  three  of 
these  things,  I  will  be  about  as  tough  as  any  of 
them  fellers  who  were  cussin'  over  there  in  the 
tabernacle.  I've  wondered  jest  lots  of  times 
what  made  some  of  them  people  so  mean. ' ' 

"Dear  Willy,  do  hush.  You  don't  know  what 
you  are  talking  about. ' ' 

"Yes,  I  do.  I've  simmered  these  old  sardines 
down  until  I  understand  the  essence  to  a.  dot.  If 
I  become  a  good  man  like  papa,  Mr.  Waltham 
or  Mr.  Stanton,  or  as  Adrian  is  going  to  be,  then 
I'll  not  be  noticed  much  more  than  a  grasshopper ; 
but,  if  I  get  to  be  an  old  dough  face,  they  will 
fall  over  each  other  to  get  to  shake  hands  with 
me.  Then  I'd  be  able  to  fleece  the  brethren  of 
some  of  their  surplus  tin.  I'd  tell  you  more,  but 
I've  got  to  go." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  1 79 

**Now,  son,  I  think  you  have  run  around  quite 
enough  since  coming  to  Zion,  and  you  had  better 
stay  in  this  evening, ' '  said  his  father. 

"O  papa!  I  won't  be  here  after  to-night,  and  I 
want  to  see  the  aggregation  that  hasn't  already 
left,  once  more  before  I  go  home." 

"Then  don't  be  out  late." 

*'I  won't,"  said  Willy,  as  he  sped  out  at  the 
door.     His  mother  said, — 

**I  don't  know  what  we  will  ever  do  with  that 
child.  I  never  heard  him  talk  so  before.  He 
has  always  been  the  best  and  smartest  lad  I  ever 
saw,  but  he  has  simply  gone  wild  since  we  came 
to  conference." 

"Don't  worry  about  him,  we  will  simply  keep 
him  away  from  conferences,  and  he  will  be  all 
right,  I  am  quite  sure,"  said  his  father.  Mr. 
Stanton  then  spoke  up  and  said : — 

"The  boy  is  bright.  I  was  very  much  taken 
with  his  observations, — so  much  like  a  boy,  but 
well  to  the  point.  Have  no  fears,  Mrs.  Allison, 
of  that  lad  ever  giving  you  trouble  or  turning 
bad.  He  is  not  of  that  turn.  There  is  nothing  of 
the  sneak  about  his  make-up ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
he  is  as  truthful,  open,  and  honest  about  every- 
thing as  he  can  be.  I  am  a  little  anxious  to  hear 
your  views  about  the  meeting,  Adrian, ' '  he  con- 
tinued, as  he  turned  to  Adrian. 

"I  have  not  been  very  favorably  impressed 
with  the  proceedings,"  said  Adrian.  "For  the 
time  being,  however,  I  prefer  to  meditate  over 
the  affair  instead  of  talking. ' ' 


l8o  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"How  about  you,  Miss  Lola?"  queried  Mr. 
Stanton. 

*'I  fear  that  brother  Willy  is  about  right  in  his 
deductions,  Mr.  Stanton;  you  are  also  about 
right  when  you  tell  mamma  to  have  no  fears 
about  him,  for  he  will  be  a  good  man,  I  know. 
He  has  the  best  heart  imaginable ;  if  Adrian  were 
not  here  I  would  say  the  best  in  the  world.  He 
has  an  intellect  of  the  highest  order.  Sees  hun- 
dreds of  things  that  an  ordinary  person  would 
pass  unobserved.  He  has  gathered  more  slang 
phrases,  on  this,  his  first  trip  to  conference,  than 
I  have  ever  heard  him  use  in  all  his  life  before  ; 
but  mark  my  word,  the  day  will  come  when  Willy 
will  make  his  mark ;  but  it  will  not  be  along  the 
lines  indicated  by  him.  Mr.  Stanton,  we  cannot 
say  much  on  the  meetings.  Our  mouths  are 
closed,  because  of  disappointment  in  what  we 
heard ;  but  I  should  like  to  hear  what  you  have 
to  say  about  the  proceedings." 

*'I  would  be  pleased  to  grant  your  request,  if  it 
would  not  be  disagreeable  to  the  rest.  * ' 

All  urged  him  to  give  his  views,  when  he  said : — 

"While  I  do  not  desire  to  criticise  any  one's 
religion  or  their  views,  and  will  not,  except  with 
the  kindest  of  feelings;  yet,  you  have  all  noted 
that  something  is  materially  wrong.  What  we 
have  heard  during  the  last  few  days  cannot  be 
the  religion  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  who  taught, 
'Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  man.'  " 

Here  he  called  for  a  servant  to  bring  in  a 
pitcher  of  lemonade  and  some  glasses,     After 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  l8| 

all  had  drunk  of  the  cooling  beverage,  he  con- 
tinued : — 

"That  religion,  which  causes  all  who  partici- 
pate in  it  or  drink  deep  at  its  fountain  to  be- 
come enraged  and  work  themselves  up  to  a  frenzy 
of  passion  and  hatred  for  all  mankind  who  do  not 
accept  it,  is  not  the  religion  of  Christ.  The 
Lowly  Nazarene  taught  his  disciples  and  follow- 
ers to  love  their  enemies,  and  to  do  good  to  those 
who  despitefully  use  them — to  do  good  and 
eschew  evil.  Oh!  what  a  chasm  between  that, 
which  we  have  heard  in  the  last  few  days,  and 
these  instructions  of  the  Saviour.  As  I  listened 
to  the  bitter  denunciations,  and  saw  the  effect 
that  they  had  on  the  congregation  at  these  meet- 
ings, this  passage  of  Scripture  invariably  came 
into  my  mind,  *By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them.'  Of  all  places  in  the  world  where  one 
should  be  guarded  in  what  he  teaches,  it  is  the 
house  of  the  Lord.  He  who  stands  at  the  sacred 
altar,  in  His  house,  should  be  most  circumspect, 
indeed.  He  should  ask  himself  the  question, 
always,  'What  shall  the  harvest  be?'  If  this  ques- 
tion should  be  asked  as  to  what  we  have  heard 
at  the  tabernacle,  the  answer  must  be.  Bitter 
hatred,  and  all  the  crimes  that  follow  in  its  foot- 
steps. See  the  effect  that  one  conference  has  had 
on  Willy!  Could  a  child  of  thirteen  attend  a  con- 
ference or  an  association  of  any  other  church  in 
the  land,  and  make  such  observations  as  he  por- 
trayed?   I  think  not;    yet  his    deductions    were 


l82  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

true.  He  heard  but  two  words  from  the  holy- 
prophet.  They  were  awful  words  for  either  the 
old  or  the  young  to  hear  from  a  man  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  a  Christian  and  the  leader  of  a 
church,  while  standing  in  the  most  sacred  place 
of  their  greatest  house  of  worship.  Those  two 
words  were  enough  for  Willy;  he  preferred  to 
hear  such  remarks  from  the  rabble  on  the  out- 
side. The  boy  is  not  to  blame  for  what  he  says. 
I  truly  pity  a  child  who  must  be  brought  up 
under  such  influences.  Take  all  that  we  have 
seen  exhibited  at  this  conference  and  reason 
upon  it  from  cause  to  effect;  the  only  wonder  is 
that  there  are  any  good  or  virtuous.  Occasionally 
one  is  found  as  pure  and  modest  as  a  lily:  but 
invariably  it  is  due  to  the  hallowed  associations, 
and  teachings  received  around  the  fireside. 
Such  only,  elevated  by  the  strength  of  parental 
love  and  instructions,  attain  a  high  degree  of 
moral  worth.  A  few  roses  may  grow  amid  mul- 
titudes of  thorns  and  thistles.  I  trust  you  will 
pardon  me,  my  good  friends:  I  did  not  intend  to 
say  so  much,  especially  as  you  are  my  guests." 

"I  assure  you  that  your  words  are  very  kind, 
and  that  we  have  enjoyed  them;  for  they  have 
the  ring  of  truth,"  said  Mr.  Waltham.  **We 
cannot  defend  such  proceedings  as  we  have  wit- 
nessed at  this  meeting.  We  cannot  say  much 
ourselves ;  it  would  do  no  good. ' ' 

The  conversation  turned  to  other  matters. 
They  spent  a  pleasant  evening,  and  many  were 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  1 83 

the  regrets  that  this  was  their  last  evening  with 
Mr.  Stanton  for  some  time. 

The  journey  home  was  a  pleasant  one,  as  they 
had  no  dust  to  contend  with,  for  several  rains 
had  fallen  during  conference.  Most  of  the  crowd 
had  preceded  them  on  their  journey  homeward 
the  day  before;  hence  the  highway  was  not 
obstructed. 

Adrian  and  Lola  talked  over  everything  they 
had  seen  and  heard  at  the  conference,  as  they 
went  home.  In  speaking  of  Mr.  Stanton's  views, 
they  were  free  to  acknowledge  that  his  premises 
were  well  founded,  and  they  could  hardly  refrain 
from  accepting  his  conclusions. 

A  circumstance  occurred  soon  after  at  Nephi,  a 
town  fifty  miles  south  of  Provo,  in  which  one  of 
Adrian's  intimate  friends  was  involved.  The 
apostle  who  made  the  closing  address  at  confer- 
ence, was,  at  the  time  he  advised  the  young  girls 
to  marry  the  old  men,  desperately  in  love  with  a 
young  girl  residing  at  Nephi.  This  young  lady 
was  betrothed  to  Adrian's  friend.  The  young 
man  was  warned  by  the  priesthood  of  Juab  stake, 
to  relinquish  his  claim  to  the  girl,  as  this  apostle 
wanted  her  as  a  plural.  The  young  man  was 
informed  that,  according  to  revelation,  it  was 
ordained  by  the  powers  above  that  the  girl 
should  be  the  apostle's  seventh  wife.  The  lovers 
insisted  that  they  should  wed — an  unpardona- 
ble sin  against  the  holy  powers  of  earth,  l^e 
brethren  having  seen  so  much  trouble  come  to 


184  THEi   FALSE    STAR. 

the  mighty,  in  the  Utah  County  stake,  over  the 
death  of  Evelyn,  concluded  to  temper  justice  with 
mercy  in  this  case;  therefore,  the  young  sinner 
was  taken  to  a  lucern  field  near  the  town,  emas- 
culated, then  liberated.  The  poor  unfortunate 
wandered  back  to  town,  finally  recovered,  but 
became  a  wreck  mentally,  and  to  this  day  roams 
about  the  streets  of  Nephi  an  imbecile.  The  girl 
was  forced  to  become  the  plural  of  the  apostle, 
and  a  few  years  later  became  a  raving  maniac, 
and  finally  died  in  an  insane  asylum.  The  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  the  treatment  of 
Adrian's  friend  soon  came  to  his  knowledge  and 
caused  him  to  be  very  careful  of  his  acts  in  the 
future. 

On  their  way  home  from  the  conference, 
Adrian  and  Lola  set  the  time  for  their  wedding, 
which  was  to  take  place  on  the  24th  of  December 
following. 

If  the  brethren  of  the  high  council  could  have 
heard  all  the  comical  expressions  of  Willy  during 
the  month  following  conference,  there  would 
have  been  a  prayer  circle  organized  in  the  Gar- 
den City  for  his  especial  benefit,  although  he 
was  very  young.  His  parents  warned  him  to  be 
very  circumspect ;  but  Willy  was  sharp  enough  to 
know  when  and  where  to  talk. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Already  the  snow  lay  heavily  on  the  crests  of 
the  highest  peaks.  Storms  which  had  been  rag- 
ing in  the  back  range  of  the  mountains  reached 
the  valleys  in  the  form  of  showers,  sufficiently 
heavy,  at  times,  during  the  progress  of  confer- 
ence, to  make  it  uncomfortable  for  the  campers 
around  Zion^  but  not  copious  enough  to  dampen 
the  zeal  and  ardor  of  the  faithful.  By  Thanks- 
giving as  much  snow  lay  on  the  high  mountains 
as  sometimes  fails  during  a  dry  winter.  The 
roads  were  yet  good  most  of  the  time  in  the  val- 
leys and  canyons. 

Adrian  had  some  relatives  living  at  Midway, 
the  place  of  the  ** hot-pots, "  five  miles  from 
Heber  City.  There  was  to  be  a  grand  ball  at 
Heber  City  on  Thanksgiving  night.  It  was  to 
be  given  in  the  large  meeting-house  at  that 
place.  Adrian  and  Lola  had  studiously  avoided 
balls  that  were  held  in  houses  of  worship  ever 
since  the  talk  that  Vernon  Stanton  made  on  the 
subject  a  year  previous,  but  the  pressure  came  so 
strong  on  this  occasion  that  they  could  not  well 
refuse  to  attend. 

It  was  to  be  a  swell  affair.  Many  of  the  digni- 
taries were  to  be  there,  and  it  was  designed  to 
have  Adrian  and  Lola  lead  the  grand  march,  this 

185 


l86  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

arrangement  being  the  work  of  Zina,  "The 
Divine."  Many  went  from  the  Garden  City. 
Among  the  number  were  President  Bodenheimer 
and  ladies,  Bishop  Lehman  and  ladies,  and 
Bishop  Blatherskite  and  ladies. 

According  to  reports  this  was  the  grandest 
affair  of  the  kind  ever  given  in  the  Wasatch  stake. 
It  was  a  fac- simile  of  the  one  given  a  year  before, 
as  a  beneficiary  to  John  Westmeland,  and  in  honor 
of  Martin  Bodenheimer  at  the  Garden  City. 
There  was  one  innovation,  however, — a  couple  of 
gambling  tables  in  the  drinking  room.  Many  of 
the  Saints  imbibed  freely  of  the  liquors  from  the 
moonshone  distilleries  located  in  these  parts,  until 
some  of  them  had  to  have  assistance  in  order  to 
get  to  their  stopping  places.  The  Brethren  had 
what  some  of  them  termed  it,  "a  high  rolling 
time." 

All  who  went  from  the  Garden  City  returned 
the  next  day,  except  Adrian  and  Lola,  who  drove 
over  to  Midway  to  make  a  short  visit  with  Adrian's 
relatives,  and  a  more  thorough  examination  of 
the  "hot-pots*  *  than  they  had  at  their  former  visits. 

"A  very  strange  freak  of  nature,"  said  Adrian, 
as  he  stood  on  the  top  of  the  largest  one  and 
watched  a  large  stone  as  it  was  sinking. 

"It  must  be  volcanic,"  said  Lola;  "feel  the 
heat  of  the  water. ' ' 

"I  am  unable  to  say  as  to  its  geological  for- 
mation," he  answered.  "Hear  the  stone  striking 
against  the  sides?" 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  187 

•*I  hear  it  distinctly,  now  and  then,"  she  said 

**How  wonderful!"  said  Adrian.  '*It  will  no 
doubt  travel  thousands  of  feet.  How  g^and  the 
terraqueous  formation.  Here  is  water  almost  at 
boiling  point  rising  from  unknown  depths. 
Look  around;  in  every  direction  you  see  the 
same,  both  large  and  small,  all  sending  forth  their 
steaming  aqueous  fluid.  Look  to  the  southeast, 
a  mile;  do  you  see  that  little  clump  of  brush?" 

*'Ido." 

"From  that  place  flows  a  spring  which  forms 
that  crystal  stream  you  see  dancing  toward  old 
Timpanogos.  The  water  at  the  trees  is  a  foot  in 
depth,  and  at  least  twenty  feet  in  width  and  as 
cold  as  ice.  See  the  high  mountains  rising  a  mile 
to  the  north  of  us?  Down  to  the  north  about  two 
miles  from  where  you  see  the  tallest  peak — six 
miles  from  here — Mr.  Stanton  and  I  began  a 
raining  prospect  last  summer.  The  place  has 
been  named  Park  City.  There  is  a  beautiful  plat 
between  the  tops  of  the  hills  just  beyond  which 
has  the  appearance  of  a  natural  park,  hence  the 
name.  I  predict  a  wonderful  camp  there  at 
some  future  time." 

They  expected  to  return  home  the  next  day; 
Saturday;  but  a  snow-storm  was  raging  in  the 
mountains,  which  came  down  to  the  valley  quite 
heavy,  at  times.  It  continued  to  rage  until  the 
middle  of  the  forenoon  on  Sunday,  when  the 
clouds  passed  away  and  the  snow  soon  vanished 
from  the  vale. 


l88  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

At  two  o'clock  they  started  home.  The  roads 
for  the  first  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  were  very 
wet  and  heavy ;  this,  combined  with  considerable 
snow  at  the  entrance  of  the  canon,  for  a  few 
miles  necessitated  slow  traveling. 

They  reached  Bridal- Veil  Falls  as  the  twilight 
was  growing  so  dim  that  it  was  difficult  to  distin- 
guish objects  farther  than  one  hundred  yards 
away.  As  they  passed  the  falls,  they  recognized 
the  old  tree  where  they  sat  on  that  sunny  day  in 
June,  when  Lola  promised  to  be  his  bride. 

"I  will  ever  remember  this  charming  spot, 
where  the  happiest  moment  of  my  life  was 
spent,"  said  Adrian. 

"It  is  to  me  a  sacred  remembrance,"  answered 
Lola. 

They  were  now  on  the  bridge  which  spanned 
the  river  just  below  the  falls,  and  as  they  passed 
from  the  bridge  to  the  south  side  of  the  river,  the 
horses  seemed  very  nervous  and  excited,  snorting 
and  shying  from  one  side  of  the  road  to  the 
other.  As  Adrian  endeavored  to  bring  them 
under  control,  he  said: — 

* '  I  never  saw  them  act  so  before. ' ' 

They  had  not  passed  the  bridge  more  than  fifty 
yards,  when  driving  through  a  thick  growth  of 
trees,  they  were  horrified  to  see  a  great  mountain 
lion  leap  into  the  middle  of  the  road,  not  thirty 
paces  in  front  of  the  horses'  heads.  The  terrified 
steeds  stood  on  their  hind  feet  for  an  instant,  then 
whirled  to  the  right,  almost  upsetting  the  vehicle. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  1 89 

Adrian  gave  a  shrill  yell  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
in  order  to  frighten  the  animal  from  the  road, 
when  another  came  in  view  to  the  right  but 
instantly  vanished  into  the  dark  thicket.  At  the 
same  moment,  the  one  in  front  of  the  horses 
leaped  into  the  darkness  across  the  road.  The 
horses  went  like  a  flash  and  in  a  moment  were  a 
hundred  yards  away,  on  an  elevated  opening  in 
the  canon  and  out  of  the  dark  thicket. 

The  heavy  fall  of  snow  on  the  high  hills  had 
driven  the  wild  beasts  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
canon,  and  they  had  evidently  sought  the  thicket 
for  the  night.  As  the  horses  flew  past,  the 
frightened  couple  heard  the  low  growls  of  the 
ferocious  beasts,  evidently  seeking  for  prey. 

*' They  are  desperate  from  hunger,  "said  Adri- 
an, **or  they  would  not  exhibit  such  daring." 

"O  Adrian!  What  if  they  had  attacked  us  there 
in  that  dark  thicket?  " 

The  horses  were  still  trying  to  go  with  their 
utmost  speed,  and  Adrian  was  endeavoring  to 
check  them.  The  frightened  girl  had  scarcely 
uttered  these  words,  when  Adrian  looked  back 
and  saw  the  male  lion  in  hot  pursuit,  closely  fol- 
lowed by  his  mate.  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
he  urged  his  horses  on,  saying  in  a  low  tone  akin 
to  despair: — 

"They  are  after  us.  I  never  saw  beasts  so 
ferocious." 

"Oh,  what  shall  we  do?"  she  cried  piteously, 
wringing  her  hands. 


190  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

They  raised  the  buggy  top,  to  keep  off  an 
attack,  should  one  be  made. 

"Be  calm,"  he  said,  while  they  were  raising  the 
top;  "keep  your  judgment  as  well  as  possible;  I 
may  need  your  help.  You  may  be  compelled  to 
drive,  while  I  endeavor  to  keep  them  at  bay. 
We  want  less  than  four  miles  to  clear  the  mouth 
of  the  canon.  They  will  not  follow  us  beyond 
that  point. ' ' 

By  this  time  he  had  urged  the  horses  to  full 
speed.  This  was  exceedingly  dangerous  driving 
for  a  canon  road.  He  held  a  strong  rein  to 
keep  the  light  carriage  steady,  as  the  horses 
leaped  and  the  buggy  rattled  over  the  stony  road. 
At  this  moment  a  terrible  crash  came  against 
the  back  of  the  cover,  completely  wrecking  the 
whole  leather  back,  one  paw  of  the  ferocious 
beast  tearing  the  back  out  of  Adrian's  clothing, 
and  lacerating  his  left  shoulder.  Quick  as  a 
flash,  Adrian  loosened  the  side  bars,  which  held 
the  top,  threw  it  back,  and  the  animal  fell  heavily 
to  the  ground,  taking  part  of  the  top  and  the 
back  end  of  the  bed  with  it.  The  beast  was 
thoroughly  aroused  from  the  smell  of  blood. 

All  of  its  furious  nature  seemed  to  be  awakened. 
They  had  not  gone  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before 
Adrian  saw  that  it  had  rallied  and  was  gaining 
on  them  at  every  bound,  closely  followed  by  the 
female.     Another  attack  seemed  inevitable. 

"Would  to  heaven  I  had  my  rifle,"  he  said. 
Then,  as  if  inspired  with  a  new  thought,  he  said. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I9I 

"Now  I  have  it;  take  the  lines,  Lola;  hold  them 
steady,  keep  well  to  the  dug-way — anything  so 
you  keep  the  road. ' ' 

The  poor  girl  was  frightened  until  she  could 
not  speak;  but  the  thoughts  of  being  a  help  gave 
her  strength  and  will,  which  seemed  supernat- 
ural. She  seized  the  reins,  braced  herself,  and 
swung  the  horses  around  the  curves  of  the  dug- 
way,  with  as  much  skill  as  a  Roman  charioteer. 

Adrian  seized  a  large  hunting  knife  from  a  box 
in  the  seat,  which  he  had  left  there  on  returning 
from  his  last  prospecting  trip.  Then  placing  his 
left  knee  on  the  seat,  his  right  foot  planted  firmly 
against  the  foot  brace,  knife  in  hand,  he  was 
ready  to  meet  his  foe. 

The  lion  struck  the  top  with  great  force  again, 
which  was  thrown  back,  yet  stood  high,  thus  pre- 
venting him  from  landing  in  the  vehicle.  His 
struggles  to  maintain  his  hold  wrecked  the  cover 
completely,  yet  he  swung  on  a  balance,  when  a 
well-directed  blow  with  the  knife  sent  him  to 
earth  again,  carrying  with  him  the  whole  buggy 
cover. 

The  knife  had  struck  the  animal  on  the  nose, 
inflicting  a  large  wound.  It  had  been  worsted  in 
this  assault,  but  was  still  undaunted,  and  with 
increased  fury  he  was  coming  with  fearful 
bounds  for  the  third  attack,  his  mate  appearing 
more  savage  as  she  was  close  by  his  side. 

Adrian  fancied  that  the  lion  was  not  anxious 
for   the   third   assault,    and   hoped   to   clear   the 


192  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

mouth  of  the  canon  before  another  attack.  The 
lion,  however,  was  more  cautious  as  he  neared 
the  vehicle. 

Lola  urged  the  horses  on ;  they  seemed  to  un- 
derstand the  situation — doing  their  part  well. 
They  never  had  such  a  race  before.  As  the  moon 
rose  over  the  mountain  top,  each  horse  looked 
like  Mazeppa's  steed.  Their  shoes  hewed  fire  at 
every  bound,  their  necks  stretched  out,  their  ears 
laid  back,  their  inflated  nostrils  sent  forth,  at 
every  breath,  puffs  of  white  steam  in  the  frosty 
air.  As  they  turned  the  last  dug-way,  and  were 
fairly  leaving  the  canon,  the  terrible  beast 
made  his  last  bound  high  in  the  air.  Adrian 
threw  himself  to  the  right  to  shield  Lola,  and  for 
better  aim ;  avoiding  the  blow  of  the  right  paw,  the 
left  landing  with  terrible  effect  on  his  left  breast ; 
simultaneously,  he  clutched  the  lion's  throat  with 
his  left  hand,  driving  the  knife  to  the  hilt  with 
his  right.  The  hind  feet  of  the  beast  struck 
heavily  in  the  back  of  the  vehicle,  his  body  strik- 
ing the  high  back  of  the  seat,  partly  breaking  the 
force  of  the  blow.  The  strong  young  man  swayed 
back  as  the  beast  tore  the  flesh  from  his  arm  and 
breast.  He  brought  all  his  strength  to  bear, 
throwing  the  lion  clear  of  the  carriage,  the  beast 
fell  lifeless  to  the  ground,  his  knife  having 
pierced  the  heart. 

By  instinct,  the  lioness  seemed  to  know  her 
mate  was  vanquished.  She  instantly  turned  and 
went  bounding  up  the  mountain    side,   making 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I93 

I 

the  rocks  fly  at  every  leap;  on  and  on  she 
swiftly  scaled  the  rocky  heights,  until  lost  in  the 
darkness. 

Then  Adrian  realized  his  awful  condition. 
They  were  yet  five  miles  from  home.  The  blood 
was  streaming  from  half  a  dozen  wounds,  any  of 
which,  if  not  checked,  would  probably  bleed  him 
to  death  before  reaching  their  destination.  His  life 
blood  was  ebbing  away,  though  he  still  had  strength 
sufficient  to  assist  Lola  in  bringing  the  horses  to  a 
standstill,  which  they  did  about  half  a  mile  below. 
The  moon  was  shining  brightly ;  she  sprang  from 
the  buggy,  hurriedly  tied  the  horses,  and  taking 
a  white  skirt  she  wore,  hastily  tore  it  into  band- 
ages. He  then  removed  his  coats  and  vest, 
directing  Lola  how  to  apply  the  bandages.  She 
padded  his  breast  and  left  arm  directly'  over  the 
wounds ;  then  wrapping  the  bandage  several  times 
around  the  body  very  tightly  over  the  pad,  she 
secured  it  fast.  Then  taking  another  bandage, 
she  crossed  it  over  each  shoulder  and  under 
the  arms,  wrapping  it  around  the  left  arm.  The 
blood  thus  checked,  soon  clotted  and  ceased  to  flow. 
Adrian  was  now  very  faint  from  loss  of  blood, 
and  could  scarcely  sit  upright.  Lola  folded  her 
cloak  and  placed  it  on  the  seat  beside  him.  He 
then  lay  down  on  his  right  side  across  the  vehicle, 
his  head  resting  on  her  cloak.  She  then  spread 
his  coats  and  the  laprobe  over  him.  Hastily 
untying  the  team  and  kneeling  in  front  of  the 
seat,  she  resumed  the  drive. 

13 


r94  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Thirty  minutes  later,  they  arrived  in  front  of 
Adrian's  home,  where  her  excited  cries  for  help 
aroused  the  family,  who  came  rushing  out  to  her 
assistance. 

Her  parents  were  spending  the  evening  at  the 
Waltham's  and,  recognizing  her  voice  in  distress, 
her  father  was  the  first  to  meet  her. 

*'0  papa!  Take  care  of  Adrian!"  she  said, 
and  fainted  in  his  arms. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

*'0  Lord!  What  evil  has  befallen  our  dear  chil- 
dren?" shrieked  Mrs.  Walthara,  as  Lola  fell  into 
her  father's  arms  and  she  saw  Adrian  lying  in 
the  buggy. 

"God  only  knows,"  answered  her  husband. 

By  this  time  a  number  of  the  neighbors  had 
reached  the  scene,  anxious  to  learn  the  cause  of 
the  excitement. 

They  bore  Adrian  and  Lola  into  the  house, 
laying  him  on  a  bed  in  a  room  adjacent  to  the 
sitting-room,  where  they  lay  Lola  on  a  couch. 
They  were  covered  with  blood  from  head  to  foot. 
Adrian  scarcely  had  life  in  him,  and  Lola  was 
wholly  exhausted  and  unable  to  talk.  The  whole 
circumstance  seemed  shrouded  in  mystery.  On 
viewing  Adrian's  bandaged  and  gory  condition, 
his  father  concluded  that  they  must  have  skilled 
assistance,  before  examining  further. 

*'Go  at  once  for  the  doctor,"  he  said  to  one  of 
his  hiT?(i  men;  "I  am  sorry  there  is  but  one  in 
this  town."  Then  turning  to  his  most  trust- 
worthy man,  he  said : — 

"Jed,  I  think  we  must  have  more  help.  Get 
the  best  saddle  horse,  and  go  at  once  to  Salt 
Lake,  for  the  best  surgeon  there.  In  order  to 
make   the   best   time,    it   will    be    necessary    to 

195 


196  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

change  horses  at  Lehi  and  Sandy.  See  to  it 
that  no  time  is  lost.  Go  directly  to  the  Conti- 
nental Hotel,  call  for  Vernon  Stanton,  consult 
with  him  as  to  the  best  skilled  physician.     Away. ' ' 

''I'm  gone,"  said  Jed. 

He  vanished  at  the  door,  and  in  a  short  time 
his  horse's  feet  were  clattering  down  the  road  to- 
ward Zion. 

All  was  excitement.  The  news  that  something 
terrible  had  happened  to  Adrian  and  Lola  spread 
like  a  prairie-fire.  Soon  a  large  crowd  had  gath- 
ered in  front  of  the  house.  "Who  caused  it?" 
"What  in  the  world  is  the  trouble?"  and  "Who 
had  bandaged  Adrian?"  were  on  every  lip.  A 
thousand  inquiring  remarks  and  attempted  expla- 
nations only  deepened  the  mystery.  The  two 
mothers  and  Willy  were  wild  with  excited  grief. 
Mr.  Waltham  restlessly  walked  the  floor,  anx- 
iously awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  local  physician. 
Mr.  Allison  was  bathing  Lola's  face,  while  her 
mother  was  rubbing  her  hands  and  arms,  both 
trying  to  revive  her. 

In  a  short  time  she  revived ;  with  no  thought 
for  herself,  her  first  words  were : — 

"Where  is  Adrian,  and  how  is  he?" 

After  being  informed  that  Adrian  was  in  the 
next  room,  her  mother  inquired: — 

"What  on  earth  has  happened  to  you  and 
Adrian,  my  child?"  Then  she  told  of  the  ferocious 
attacks  of  the  lion,  the  fearful  race  for  life,  their 
almost  miraculous  escape,  and  how  she  had  band- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  I97 

aged  Adrian  with  her  skirt,  according  to  his 
instructions.  The  mystery  was  then  solved,  and 
all  fully  realized  Adrian's  dangerous  condition. 

There  had  not  been  another  case,  in  which  a 
lion  had  attacked  a  person,  in  this  part  of  the 
country  for  several  years;  and  never  had  there 
been  a  more  daring  attack. 

As  Lola  finished  her  narration,  the  chief  elders 
of  the  stake,  Bodenheimer,  Lehman  and  Blather- 
skite, appeared  on  the  scene.  About  the  time 
Adrian's  father  had  started  the  two  men  for  the 
physicians  his  mother  had  sent  for  the  elders. 
They  were  now  on  hand,  as  was  Zina,  and  several 
other  women. 

The  elders  knelt  around  the  bed  and  openly 
prayed  for  his  immediate  recovery,  Bodenheimer 
leading  the  prayer,  while  Lehman  prayed  in 
secret  that  Adrian  would  die.  After  the  prayer 
they  arose  and  laid  their  holy,  healing  hands 
upon  him.  After  ministering  in  this  way,  they 
called  for  a  bottle  of  olive  oil,  specifying  one  that 
had  never  been  opened.  It  was  hurriedly 
brought.  They  stepped  into  the  room  where 
Lola  lay  upon  the  couch,  set  the  bottle  upon 
the  center  table,  and  with  each  touching  the 
bottle,  they  asked  the  blessing  of  Heaven  upon 
it.  It  was  now  consecrated,  and  on  removing  the 
cork  they  went  into  the  room  where  Adrian  was 
lying  on  the  bed.  Bodenheimer  said,  as  he 
raised  his  hands  imploringly : — 

"Almighty  Father,  we  ask  thy  healing  blessing, 


tgS  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

as  we  remove  these  bandages,  and  apply  the 
holy  oil." 

Then  Lehman  started  to  loosen  the  bandages, 
when  Lola  hurried  into  the  room  and  said :— - 

"For  heaven's  sake  do  not  remove  those  band- 
ages. ' ' 

**Why?"  queried  the  three  divines  almost  in  a 
breath. 

**For  the  simple  reason  that  he  will  die  if  you 
do." 

"What  will  cause  his  death?"  exclaimed  Boden- 
heimer. 

"He  will  die  from  loss  of  blood." 

"Tut,  tut,  child.  We  are  administering  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord. ' ' 

"I  know,  but  please  do  not  do  that  now." 

"We  can  stop  the  blood,  child." 

"How,  I  pray?" 

"By  prayer  and  the  laying-on  of  hands." 

"I  dislike  to  display  a  doubting  mind;  but  I 
pray  that  you  do  not  remove  those  bandages, 
which  I  fixed  firm  and  secure,  until  we  have 
skilled  assistance. ' ' 

"What!  do  you  mean  to  say  that  there  is  any 
more  skilled  than  the  Lord?" 

"No,  but"— 

"Well,  then,  what  do  you  mean?" 

"I  mean  that  you  had  better  wait  until  the 
surgeons  arrive. " 

"Have  you  sent  for  some  of  those  quack  Gentile 
doctors?" 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  1 99 

**My  father  told  me,  just  before  you  came  in, 
that  they  had  sent  for  the  local  physician,  and 
one  of  the  best  surgeons  from  Zion." 

*'Then  why  did  you  send  for  us?" 

'*We  thought  you  might  do  what  you  could," 
interrupted  Adrian's  mother. 

*'I  was  unaware  of  the  fact  that  they  had  sent 
for  you,  but  that  is  all  right,"  said  Lola. 

**Then  let  us  have  our  way,  and  he  will  be 
healed  at  once, ' '  insisted  Lehman. 

"You  may  do  anything  in  reason ;  but  you  shall 
not  remove  those  bandages.  Adrian's  judgment 
is  good.  He  told  me  how  to  apply  those  band- 
ages, and  let  them  remain  until  the  services  of  a 
good  surgeon  could  be  secured.  You  ought  to 
know  that  to  remove  them  the  blood  will  start 
again,  and  he  cannot  stand  the  loss  of  more 
blood. ' ' 

*'The  Lord  will  save  him  by  our  asking.** 

"Then  why  don't  you  ask?" 

**Wedid,  child." 

**When?" 

**Did  you  not  hear  us  when  we  prayed?" 

**I  heard  you  pray." 

**That  was  when  we  asked  that  he  be  healed." 

**But  he  is  not  healed." 

**He  will  be  so  at  once  if  you  will  allow  us  to 
apply  this  oil.     It  is  so  healing. ' ' 

"Then  it  is  not  your  prayers  and  the  laying-on 
of  hands  which  you  expect  to  heal  him,  but  the 
oil?" 


200  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

'*The  oil  is  to  help. " 

* '  My  brethren,  I  know  that  olive  oil  is  a  good 
thing  in  its  place,  but  it  cannot  stop  blood  from 
such  wounds,  and  those  bandages  shall  not  be 
removed. ' ' 

The  local  physician  came  at  this  juncture,  and 
decided  with  Lola  that  even  with  his  aid  they 
had  better  wait  until  another  surgeon  came, 
unless,  on  careful  examination,  he  found  that 
his  wounds  should  have  immediate  attention. 
The  elders  then  desisted  from  their  sanguine  pur- 
pose, and  Lola  went  with  her  mother  to  change 
her  clothing  and  take  a  little  nourishment.  The 
elders,  Zina  and  the  other  women  left,  and  the 
crowd  in  front  of  the  house  dispersed. 

The  physician  removed  all  of  the  bloody  cloth- 
ing to  the  bandages,  with  the  aid  of  Adrian's 
father;  and  Mr.  Allison  gave  him  a  warm  spong-^ 
bath,  with  spirits  in  the  water;  put  clean  clothini,^ 
on  him  and  gave  him  a  little  stimulant.  He 
then  revived,  ate  a  little  broth  with  cracker,  and 
when  Lola  and  her  mother  returned,  an  hour 
later,  he  was  looking  much  better,  and  was  as 
comfortable  as  he  could  well  be  under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances. 

"Have  you  changed  the  bandages?"  she  in- 
quired of  the  physician. 

*'No,"  he  answered.  "After  careful  examina- 
tion I  still  felt  that  it  was  not  best  until  the 
other  surgeon  arrived.  He  is  very  weak  now 
from  the  loss  of  blood  and  cannot  stand  the  loss 
of  a  great  deal  more. ' ' 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  20l 

"I  well  knew  it  and  would  not  let  the  elders 
remove  them. ' ' 

*'If  they  had  removed  them,  he  would  have 
fared  very  badly,  and  might  have  been  dead  ere 
this." 

The  physician  was  a  Gentile,  who  had  recently 
come  into  the  community,  and  had  very  little 
patience  with  the  elders'  laying-on  of  hands.  He 
continued  by  saying : — 

"Laying-on  of  hands  is  a  very  good  thing  where 
there's  scarcely  anything  the  matter  with  the 
patient;  but  physical  as  well  as  the  scientific 
laws  teach  us  that  if  there  is  a  broken  bone  or  a 
severed  blood-vessel,  the  bone  must  be  set,  or  the 
blood-vessel  taken  up  properly,  as  a  necessary 
antecedent  to  speedy  and  complete  recovery. 
Laying-on  of  hands  in  this  case  could  not  have 
stopped  the  flow  of  blood.  By  the  way,  Miss 
Lola,  where  did  you  get  the  idea  of  bandaging 
him  so  successfully?" 

*'From  Adrian  himself;  he  said  that  under 
pressure  the  blood  could  not  flow,  and  suggested 
the  manner  of  applying  the  bandages.  The 
moon  had  fairly  risen  -  above  the  mountain  tops, 
and  gave  me  good  light.  I  was  not  dilatory  in 
my  movements.  I  told  Adrian  that  if  he  could 
be  saved  in  that  way,  no  skill  should  be  lacking  on 
my  part.  I  had  seen  one  wound  dressed  by  a 
surgeon,  and  put  myself  in  imitation  of  the  work 
he  did ;  my  task  was  much  greater  than .  his,  as 
the  wound  was  much  larger  and  more  dangerous ; 


2o2  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

but  Adrian's  life  was  at  stake,  and  this  thought 
gave  me  power  and  skill  sufficient  to  do  the  work. ' ' 

"You  did  your  work  well,  indeed;  it  is  a  splen- 
did temporary  dressing,  and  will  suffice  until  to- 
morrow, when  we  have  more  help. ' ' 

Lola  was  almost  worn  out ;  and  all  urged  her  to 
go  and  take  rest.  After  obtaining  a  promise  that 
she  would  be  awakened  if  he  should  turn  for  the 
worse,  she  and  her  mother  decided  to  go  home  for 
the  night,  and  her  father  to  stay  with  Adrian  in 
company  with  the  physician  and  his  parents. 

Mrs.  Allison  turned  to  Willy,  who  was  seated 
near  Adrian's  bed,  apparently  in  deep  meditation, 
and  said : — 

' '  Come,  Willy,  and  go  home  with  us.  * ' 

Willy  sat  in  silence. 

"I  would  not  worry  so  much  about  Adrian,  he 
will  be  better  by  morning,"  said  his  mother 
consolingly. 

"Well,  he  wouldn't  if  them  old  sardines  had 
taken  his  bandages  off.  If  that  old  bandy- 
shanked,  knock-kneed,  hog-eyed  Lehman  had 
attempted  to  untie  one  of  them  bandages  I'd  a' 
flew  at  him  like  a  she-eagle,  when  her  young  ones 
are  disturbed.  I  tell  you,  mamma,  I  was  so  mad, 
my  diaphragm  liked  to  a'  busted,  and  I  haven't 
got  over  it  yet. ' ' 

"Willy,  you  are  really  an  absurd  boy.  You 
would  not  have  made  a  disturbance  with  the 
elders,  and  made  yourself  ridiculous.  You  are  a 
foolish  child  to  think  of  doing  a  thing  of  that 
kind." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  203 

**Well,  my  dear  mamma,  would  it  have  been 
more  ridiculous  than  for  us  all  to  sit  around  like  a 
gang  of  doughheads  and  silently  consent  to  have 
those  bandages  taken  from  Adrian,  when  com- 
mon sense  ought  to  teach  us  that  he  would  begin 
to  bleed  again?  Those  old  sardines  couldn't  have 
stopped  the  blood  no  more  than  I  could.  I  think 
they  are  all  a  set  of — well,  I  won't  say  just  now; 
but  the  block  teachers  have  told  me  and  my  pards 
lots  o*  times  that  when  the  elders  blessed  the  oil, 
there  would  be  an  agitation  in  the  bottle,  just 
like  effervescing,  and  that  the  cork  would  fly  to 
the  ceiling;  so  I  just  watched  them  old  warts 
when  they  blessed  the  oil,  in  the  other  room,  and 
narry  'evervess,'  nor  cork-fly  did  I  see.  I'll  bet 
a  dollar  any  other  bottle  of  oil  is  just  as  good. ' ' 

His  mother  went  to  him,  took  his  arm,  and 
raised  him  from  the  chair,  saying: — 

**Come,  come,  son,  you  talk  too  much." 

Then  looking  wonderingly  into  his  mother's 
face,  as  she  led  him  from  the  room,  he  said : — 

*'I  wonder  what  old  Zina  was  foaming  around 
here  for,  gritting  her  teeth,  while  sister  was 
talking  to  them  old  sardines?  She  looked  just  like 
an  old  sage-hen  with  two  ideas — didn't  know 
whether  to  fly  or  set. ' ' 

'  *  Do  hush,  son ;  you  must  go  to  bed  and  go  to 
sleep." 

**I'll  go  to  bed,  but  I  won't  go  to  sleep  till  I've 
simmered  that  old  hen  down,  to  see  whether 
she'll  fly  or  set." 


204  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

As  they  went  out  at  the  door  his  mother  said : — 

"Willy,  you  talk  entirely  too  much;  you  will 
get  in  trouble  yet. ' ' 

"Them  old  warts  would  lay  hands  on  me  if 
they'd  hear  me — wouldn't  they?"  said  Willy,  as 
the  door  was  closed  behind  him. 

Adrian's  parents,  Mr.  Allison,  and  the  local 
physician  were  very  attentive  to  their  patient 
during  the  night.  He  slept  well  at  times,  but 
was  delirious  at  intervals,  with  considerable  fever. 

Adrian  was  a  favorite  with  Jed,  as  they  all 
termed  him.  His  name  was  Jeddediah  Worthen. 
He  had  been  working  for  Mr.  Waltham  for  a 
period  of  five  years.  The  two  years  before  that 
he  was  a  driver  on  the  overland  stage  route,  and 
for  five  or  six  years  prior  to  that  he  had  been  a 
cowboy  on  the  range.  He  had  gathered  cattle 
many  times  from  Montana  to  Texas.  He  was  a 
medium  tall, dark-complexioned  man  of  thirty-five, 
whose  heart  was  alway  larger  than  his  pocket-book. 
He  would  divide  his  last  meal  with  a  hungry  trav- 
eler, or  give  him  his  last  dollar,  if  he  found  such 
a  one  in  distress.  He  was  so  kind  in  his  man- 
ners, quiet  about  what  he  said  and  worked  so 
steadily  that  no  one  ever  stopped  to  ask  whether 
Jed  was  Mormon,  Jew  or  Gentile.  He  could 
throw  a  lariat  farther,  catch  an  animal  with 
greater  ease,  and  oftener,  than  any  man  he  had 
ever  met,  and  could  make  as  many  miles  on 
horseback  in  a  given  time  as  any  one. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

As  the  sun  was  rising  above  the  Wasatch  Mount- 
ains the  next  morning,  Vernon  Stanton,  in  com- 
pany with  the  surgeon  from  Zion,  drove  up  in 
front  of  the  Waltham  residence.  Jed  had  not 
lost  a  moment's  time;  he  had  made  the  trip  to 
the  city  in  four  hours,  stopping  twice  to  change 
horses;  and  within  ten  hours  from  the  time  he 
left  the  Garden  City  the  surgeon  and  Mr.  Stan- 
ton were  at  Adrian's  bedside. 

The  surgeon  and  the  local  physician  at  once 
began  a  careful  examination  of  the  physical  con- 
dition of  the  patient,  as  to  whether  he  could  stand 
the  operation  of  having  the  wounds  re-opened, 
the  blood-vessels  taken  up,  the  removal  of  for- 
eign matter,  if  any,  and  the  necessary  stitching. 

After  making  a  thorough  examination,  they 
decided  that  the  operation  must  be  performed  at 
once,  although  he  had  sustained  a  terrible  shock 
and  had  suffered  a  heavy  loss  of  blood.  They 
were  in  doubt  as  to  what  the  results  would  be 
from  the  operation,  but  it  could  not  be  delayed  a 
moment. 

At  eight  o'clock  everything  was  in  readiness, 
and  they  began  to  remove  the  bandages.  The 
flesh  was  terribly  lacerated  on  the  breast  and 
almost  stripped  to  the  bone  for  five  inches  on  the 

808 


2o6  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

muscular  side  of  the  left  arm.  They  found  the 
wounds  even  worse  than  they  had  anticipated. 
Not  being  able  to  take  anaesthetics,  owing  to  the 
loss  of  blood,  the  operation  was  a  painful  one,  as 
the  parts  had  become  very  sore ;  but  under  the 
skillful  hand  of  the  surgeon  the  blood-vessels  were 
quickly  ligated,  the  disconnected  flesh  removed 
and  the  stitching  completed.  Within  one  hour 
from  the  time  the  bandages  were  removed,  the 
work  of  dressing  the  wounds  was  complete,  with 
the  loss  of  but  little  blood.  The  shock  of  the 
operation  had  made  him  very  weak.  He  was 
deathly  pale,  a  clammy  perspiration  stood  on  his 
forehead,  his  pulse  was  feeble  and  for  three 
hours  he  lay  indifferent  to  everything  around 
him.  They  bathed  him  in  alcohol,  applied  mus- 
tard plasters  as  nearly  over  the  region  of  the 
heart  as  the  new  bandages  would  allow,  arousing 
him  occasionally  to  administer  internal  stimu- 
lants ;  frequently  raising  the  limbs  to  cause  the 
blood  to  gravitate  toward  the  heart,  and  pressing 
the  abdominal  cavity  from  below  upward,  to 
encourage  the  blood  to  flow  from  the  dilated 
abdominal  veins  into  the  heart.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  three  hours,  the  physicians  noticed  that 
the  pulse  was  growing  stronger.  Soon  the 
patient  began  to  shift  in  bed  and  complain  of  the 
wound  hurting  him.  As  these  symptoms  grew 
more  favorable,  all  were  encouraged  and  felt  that 
there  was  yet  hope  of  his  recovery. 
The  Salt  Lake  surgeon  stayed  for  a  week,  as  did 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  207 

Mr.  Stanton,  then  returned  to  Zion,  leaving 
Adrian  in  the  care  of  the  local  physician.  Adrian 
was  not  considered  out  of  danger  for  a  period  of 
more  than  three  weeks,  during  which  time  the 
physician  from  Zion  made  three  more  visits.  At 
the  end  of  three  weeks  his  fever  had  abated,  and 
the  doctors  pronounced  him  beyond  the  danger 
line.  A  few  days  later  he  was  able  to  sit  up  in 
bed  by  being  propped  up  with  pillows,  and  to 
converse  with  those  around  him. 

During  all  this  time  Lola  had  not  had  an 
opportunity  to  converse  with  him  privately.  It 
was  in  the  evening,  and  Adrian  had  been  left  to 
Lola's  care,  when  she  said: — 

*'It  seems  like  an  age  since  I  have  had  a  pri- 
vate conversation  with  you,  Adrian." 

*'How  long  has  it  been,  my  love?" 

** Three  weeks  last  Sunday." 

**Solong  as  that?" 

"Yes,  'tis  even  true;  more  than  three  weeks  of 
anxious  watching  and  waiting  for  the  crisis  to 
pass,  when  you  could  be  pronounced  out  of 
danger." 

' '  I  can  hardly  realize  it.  It  seems  like  a  dream ; 
— what  day  of  the  week  is  this?" 

"To-day  is  Thursday,  the  twenty-fourth  of 
December. ' ' 

"Is  it  possible  that  I  have  been  sick  so  long? 
This  is  the  day  we  were  to  have  been  married.  I 
am  sorry  that  our  union  has  been  delayed  from 
the  day  first  set.     I  fear  it  portends  some  ill;  if 


208  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

the  hour  had  not  passed,  I  should  be  tempted  to 
have  a  simple  ceremony  here  rather  than  defer 
such  a  sacred  matter  for  a  day.  Owing  to  my 
unfortunate  condition,  we  would  have  been 
excused  from  going  through  the  endowment. 
Why  did  you  not  say  something  to  me  yesterday, 
love?" 

'  *  I  was  going  to  mention  it  to  you,  and  so  told 
mamma;  but  Sister  Zina  came  in  at  that 
moment,  and  I  spoke  to  her  about  the  matter, 
when  she  entered  such  a  vigorous  protest  against 
us  having  a  simple  wedding  outside  of  the 
endowment,  that  I  concluded,  perhaps,  you  might 
view  the  proposition  with  disfavor." 

"Lola,  your  sense  of  right  is  so  acute  that  I 
should  never  view  with  disfavor  any  proposition 
that  you  would  make  after  mature  deliberation. 
I  cannot  understand  why  Sister  Zina  was  so  solic- 
itous about  the  time  and  place  of  our  wedding. " 

*'She  said  it  was  because  of  our  prominence. 
That  we  were  now  the  favorite  couple  in  this 
part  of  Zion  with  the  leadership,  and  that  we 
must  do  nothing  to  gain  their  disfavor.  Knowing 
the  force  of  the  last  proposition,  I  determined  to 
say  nothing  until  after  the  hour  had  passed. " 

"Dear  Lola,  I  think,  perhaps,  yoii  came  to  the 
right  conclusion  after  hearing  what  she  said 
about  it. ' ' 

They  were  both  silent  for  a  few  moments, 
when  Lola  said : — 

**0,  my  dear  Adrian,  wasn't  that  an  awful 
jiight  wlie;x  we  werf    ^ttagked  hy  the  Uongf' 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  209 

**Your  language  does  not  express  it.  Could 
you  have  known  all  that  I  saw,  you  would  not 
have  expressed  it  so  mildly.  When  that  mighty 
beast  made  its  last  leap,  it  was  at  you,  as  your 
back  was  turned.  I  threw  myself  over  to  catch 
the  force  of  the  powerful  stroke.  I  felt,  for  the 
mpment,  that  if  I  could  only  save  you,  even  if  I 
were  destroyed,  that  I  would  be  compensated. 
The  vehicle,  in  its  motion,  changed  our  relative 
positions,  and  thanks  be  to  Providence,  I  caught 
the  beast  as  I  intended.  Any  other  catch,  and  he 
would  have  killed  me.  His  dying  struggles  were 
terrible.  It  seemed  to  me  that  his  ponderous 
claws  pierced  me  through,  and  were  tearing  my 
vitals  ajiunder;  then,  in  that  awful  moment,  this 
satisfying  thought  came  to  my  mind,  that  you  were 
saved ;  for  I  knew  that  I  had  killed  the  monster, 
and  that  the  lioness  would  flee  at  the  sight  of  her 
vanquished  mate.  I  then  brought  all  my 
strength  to  bear,  as  I  hurled  him  over  the  wheels. 
I  saw  that  he  was  dead  when  he  struck  the 
ground,  and  felt  that  I  soon  should  be,  and  when 
I  saw  the  lioness  bounding  away  from  us  up  the 
mountain  side,  I  knew  that  you  were  safe.  This 
gave  me  satisfaction,  for  I  felt  that  you  would 
live  to  go  to  the  Temple,  and  be  sealed  to  me  for 
eternity.  Then,  as  if  awakening,  I  felt  that  I 
must  make  a  desperate  effort  to  live.  I  realized 
that  my  strength  was  going  as  my  life  blood  was 
surely  ebbing  away ;  then  with  all  my  remaining 
u 


2IO  THE    FALSE     STAR, 

Strength  I  clutched  at  the  lines  and  assisted  you 
in  bringing  the  horses  to  a  halt.  I  told  you  what 
to  do,  and  when  you  had  completed  the  work  so 
well,  I  lay  down  and  became  unconscious,  and 
from  that  time  until  a  day  or  two  since  everything 
has  seemed  like  a  dream.  While  sleeping  to-day 
I  had  a  dream,  so  strange  and  unnatural,  that  it 
troubles  me.  Would  that  I  could  shut  it  from  my 
mind,  but  I  cannot. ' ' 

"Dear  Adrian,  you  should  not  let  a  dream 
worry  you;  will  you  tell  me  what  it  was?" 

"In  my  dream,  at  first,  a  multitude  of  frightful 
scenes  flashed  before  my  gaze.  'Twas  but  a 
moment,  yet  in  that  space  of  time  I  saw  the  light 
of  my  existence  set  aglow.  It  shone  with  ever- 
increasing  brightness  until  the  middle  of  the  fore- 
noon, when  it  was  put  out  by  the  act  of  a  mighty 
monster.  My  whole  existence  passed  as  one 
panoramic  scene,  then  stopped,  and  I  thought  I 
was  dead;  for  the  moment  I  gave  up  in  despair. 
Then,  as  I  awakened  to  the  future  life,  my  whole 
thoughts  turned  to  you.  I  saw  your  lovely  form 
in  all  its  earthly  beauty,  crowned  with  a  celestial 
radiance,  which  was  reflected  on  all  who  came 
into  your  presence,  and  they  became  as  you,  pure 
and  holy.  This  vision  passed ;  I  saw  you  alone, 
when  a  monster,  in  the  form  of  a  serpent,  sought 
to  enfold  you  in  its  terrible  coils;  you  did  not 
seem  to  realize  the  awful  danger,  yet  there  was 
a  look  of  sadness  wrought  upon  your  countenance, 
which  only  intensified  your  resplendent  beauty. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  211 

With  all  the  charms  that  nature  had  bestowed 
upon  you,  I  had  never  seen  you  look  so  heavenly. 
You  were  clad  in  a  beautiful  snow-white  robe, 
with  your  golden  hair  streaming  out  on  the 
breeze,  and  the  vigor  of  youth  blooming  upon 
your  cheeks.  You  were  standing  on  the  bank  of 
a  crystal  stream,  looking  anxiously  across  at  me, 
your  arms  extended,  sorrowfully  calling,  Adrian ! 
Adrian !  Why  were  you  taken  from  me !  Then 
I  awakened.  It  comes  to  me  now  that  this 
dream  was  at  the  exact  hour  that  we  were  to 
have  been  married.  It  fills  me  with  gloomy  fore- 
bodings. ' ' 

"It  is,  indeed,  a  very  strange  dream;  but  do 
not  allow  it  to  worry  you,  for  my  sake. ' ' 

'*For  your  sweet  sake  I  will  dismiss  it  from  my 
mind,  Tf  possible ;  but,  Lola,  we  shall  have  to  set 
another  day  for  our  marriage;  when  shall  it  be?" 

**If  it  is  left  for  me  to  decide,  I  will  select  the 
anniversary  of  our  engagement,  the  twenty-fifth 
of  June." 

"That  is  a  long  time." 

"Yes,  that  is  true;  but  by  that  time  you  will 
be  strong  and  well,  besides,  it  is  such  a  pretty 
month." 

"You  are  right,  Lola.  Let  it  be  June;  it  may 
take  a  long  time  for  me  to  be  my  former  self." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waltham  came  into  the  room, 
and  the  conversation  changed  to  other  subjects 

Soon  life  began  to  resume  its  usual  routine  of 
duty  and  pleasure  in  the  homes  of  the  Allison  and 


212  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Waltham  families.  Many  were  the  pleasant  con- 
versations that  took  place,  in  which  Adrian  again 
had  the  pleasure  of  taking  part.  The  conversa- 
tion often  turned  to  the  ill-fated  night  when  it 
seemed  that  the  most  ferocious  demon  of  the 
lower  region  was  turned  loose  on  the  two  young 
people. 

Two  weeks  later,  and  Adrian  had  gained 
strength  sufficient  to  venture  out  of  the  house 
for  a  short  time ;  still  a  week  later,  and  he  was 
able  to  take  a  sleigh  ride  in  company  with  his 
love  and  parents,  behind  the  favorite  team,  which 
had  not  been  driven  since  that  awful  night.  At 
first  the  team  could  hardly  be  held  in  by  Mr. 
Waltham,  but  he  soon  brought  them  down  to 
their  old  time  gentleness. 

The  horses  seemed  to  be  glad  to  see  their 
master  able  to  be  out  again,  and  the  watch  dog 
was  unusually  happy  to  see  Adrian  alight  from 
the  vehicle  in  front  of  the  house — showing  his 
great  delight  in  every  way  he  could. 

When  they  returned  from  the  drive,  and  Adrian 
had  rested  from  the  trip,  Jed  came  into  the  sit- 
ting room  with  a  beautifully  mounted  lion  rug. 
It  was  eight  feet  from  tip  to  tip.  After  spread- 
ing the  rug  in  front  of  Adrian,  on  the  floor,  he 
said : — 

"Allow  me,  dear  friend,  to  present  you  with 
this  rug  as  a  trophy  of  your  deadly  combat.  I 
hope  in  years  to  come  it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  you 
to  look  upon  this  rug  and  say  to  your  friends, 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  21 3 

here  lies  all  that  remains  of  a  fearful  foe,  once 
furious  in  deadly  combat  against  me,  but  now 
appropriated  to  my  use  and  comfort. ' ' 

''My  dear  old  boy,  this  is  indeed  a  pleasant  sur- 
prise; I 'did  not  know  that  the  skin  had  been 
saved.  Who  secured  it  and  dressed  it  so  beauti- 
fully? I  will  prize  it  very  highly,  indeed.  Costly 
articles  are,  usually,  most  appreciated.  If  this 
proposition  holds  well  in  the  present  case,  I  ought 
to  appreciate  this  souvenir  in  the  highest  degree, 
for  it  came  near  costing  me  my  life. " 

"In  answer  to  your  question,  I  will  say  that  I 
went,  in  person,  immediately  after  returning 
from  Zion  with  the  surgeon,  and  found  the  dead 
lion  where  he  had  fallen.  It  evidently  had  not 
made  a  struggle  after  striking  the  ground,  as  the 
knife  was  yet  sticking  in  its  side ;  and  on  exami- 
nation I  found  that  it  had  pierced  the  heart 
through  and  through.  I  carefully  took  the  pelt 
from  the  body,  dressed  and  mounted  it  myself, 
in  order  that  I  might  have  the  supreme  pleasure 
of  presenting  it  to  you  should  you  recover. " 

*'Jed,  your  kindness  shall  never  be  forgotten, 
and  I  hope  to  be  able  to  compensate  you  for  this 
act  of  though tfulness. " 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

When  the  elders  left  the  Waltham  home  on  the 
evening  that  Adrian  was  hurt,  they  left  with  any- 
thing but  a  good  feeling  dwelling  in  their  breasts. 

Zina  and  her  companions  were  in  the  same 
mood.  As  they  all  wended  their  way  through 
the  crowd,  in  front  of  the  Waltham  residence, 
they  were  loud  and  profuse  in  their  predictions 
as  to  Adrian's  final  outcome,  and  denounced  Lola 
for  her  vigorous  protests  against  the  elders  having 
their  way. 

"If  she  were  not  so  pert  and  head-strong,  she 
would  fare  much  better,"  said  Zina,  as  they 
emerged  from  the  crowd. 

"She  will  yet  realize  the  full  force  of  what  you 
say,  Sister  Zina,"  answered  President  Bodenhei- 
mer.  "She  is  certainly  an  impudent  creature, 
and  I  will  warrant  that  she  will  try  to  reject  the 
blessed  plurality  when  it  comes  to  the  test. ' ' 

"Try?  She  will  not  only  try,  but  you  may 
begin  to  know  that  she  will  reject  it  entirely," 
answered  Zina. 

"She  will  not  have  the  temerity  to  do  so  in  the 
face  of  some  things  that  have  happened.  Fur- 
ther, she  was  present  at  the  last  general  confer- 
ence at  Zion  and  heard  what  the  prophet  said. 
Do  you  remember  it,  Sister  Zina?" 

214 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  215 

"I  remember  it  perfectly." 

"What  was  that,  Sister  Zina,  as  I  was  not  there, 
you  know?"  interrupted  Lehman. 

"Is  it  possible  you  have  not  heard?" 

"It  is  possible." 

"Then  I  want  you,  of  all  men,  to  know  the 
blessed  utterance.  It  came  as  from  the  throne 
of  grace.  I  could  see  the  holy  inspiration  when 
he  said,  'That  any  woman  who  would  object  to 
the  blessed  plurality  ought  to  have  her  throat  cut 
and  sent  to  h — 1  across  lots. '  I  tell  you  it  did  my 
soul  good,  for  all  the  Allisons  and  Walthams 
were  there.  I  looked  straight  at  them,  but  could 
not  get  their  eyes  at  any  time.  It  certainly  gave 
them  a  just  blow." 

Bishop  Lehman  was  for  any  proposition  that 
would  advance  his  cause  with  Lola.  When  he 
came  in  contact  with  her,  no  matter  where  it  was, 
he  felt  that  all  the  charms  of  earth  were  centered 
in  her  being.  He  was  seeking  with  all  his  might 
to  drag  her  lover  to  destruction,  in  order  that  he 
might  sate  his  lustful  desires  by  forcing  Lola  to 
become  his  sixth.  He  felt  that  to  fail  in  his  pur- 
pose would  be  a  blow  worse  than  death,  and  he 
was  ever  ready  to  encourage  anything  which  led 
toward  his  purpose.     In  answer  to  Zina,  he  said : — 

"The  prophet  was  right.  If  any  of  the  young 
people  of  the  church  reject  it  in  word  or  deed, 
they  ought  to  be  prohibited  from  having  any 
company  of  their  liking.  If  I  had  my  way,  I 
would  deny  company  of  any  kind  to  such  an  one 


2l6  THE   FALSE    STAR. 

until  she  should  yield,  and  at  the  same  time  I 
would  keep  her  on  bread  and  water  during  the 
time  she  held  out. ' ' 

"Brother  Lehman,  you  are  entirely  too  mild. 
My  ideas  coincide  perfectly  with  those  of  the 
prophet. ' ' 

"You  are  right,  Sister  Zina;  but" — 

"Of  course  I  am  right.  You  will  ever  find  me 
on  the  side  of  right,  honor,  justice,  truth  and 
virtue.  I  can  scarcely  tolerate  these  monogo- 
mistic  tendencies.  I  verily  believe  it  portends 
apostasy. ' ' 

"It  certainly  has  that  appearance;  but  as  I  was 
going  to  say,  we  cannot  carry  out  that  plan  so 
well,  for  it  gives  us  too  much  trouble,  as  you 
all  know,  from  the  experience  we  had  in  the  last 
case  of  that  kind." 

"Well,  all  I  have  got  to  say  is  that  when  it 
comes  to  the  test,  if  these  people  do  reject  the 
sacred  principle,  we  should  give  them  the  merriest 
lesson  they  have  ever  experienced. ' ' 

"That  has  been  definitely  determined  upon," 
said  Bodenheimer.  "The  thing  that  interests 
me  most,  at  present,  is  how  these Gen- 
tile doctors  are  going  to  succeed  with  Adrian's 
case.  He  will  die  under  their  care,  mark  my 
word.  If  they  had  permitted  us  to  have  gone 
according  to  the  Lord's  will,  he  would  have  been 
healed  ere  this.  The  Lord's  will  has  been  set 
aside  for  that  of  Lola's,  therefore  she  will  have 
to  suffer  the  consequence.     She  will  yet  have  to 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  21 7 

be  brought  to  submission,  together  with  all  who 
surround  her.  They  all  know,  as  well  as  we,  of 
several  cases  right  here  in  our  midst  where 
elders  have  raised  the  dead  and  healed  all  man- 
ner of  diseases,  yet  they  will  deny  that  slight 
wounds  can  be  healed  by  the  same  power.  Such 
lack  of  faith  has  never  been  exhibited  in  all  of 
Zion." 

"That's  the  truth  if  it  ever  was  told,"  answered 
all  the  rest  in  a  breath. 

During  this  conversation  they  had  walked 
slowly  along,  imtil  they  had  reached  a  corner 
where  they  were  to  separate;  there  they  halted 
for  a  short  time  and  finished  their  conversation, 
after  which  they  bade  each  other  good  night  and 
went  to  their  respective  homes. 

On  reaching  home  Lehman  entered  into  his 
private  chamber  and  betook  himself  to  prayer 
that  Adrian  would  die  from  the  effects  of  his 
wounds.  He  earnestly  prayed  that  he  might  be 
permitted  to  see  him  a  corpse  before  the  sun 
should  set  again.     He  said  to  himself: — 

"If  Adrian  were  only  out  of  the  way,  then  I 
could  seek  and  win  the  girl  without  further  diffi- 
culty. If  she  refused  me,  then  I  would  force  her 
to  terms  by  oppression ;  and  in  case  I  failed  in 
this,  I  would  destroy  her  and  her  parents  also  by 
my  powerful  influence,  yes,  by  my  powerful  influ- 
ence ;  for  I  would  rather  see  her  dead  than  fail  to 
get  her.  I  cannot,  I  must  not  fail ;  nay,  I  must 
not  fail.     Oh!    if  I  could  only  have  torn  those 


2l8  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

bandages  from  that  young  man's  wounds,  I  could 
then  have  smiled  beneath  a  look  of  sadness  and 
have  felt  the  deep  gratification  that  comes  to  the 
soul  when  it  suddenly  meets  with  a  triumph, 
which  it  earnestly  hoped,  but  dared  not  expect 
so  soon,  nay,  so  soon.  If  he  die,  which  I  believe 
he  will,  I  will  win  her  love  by  grieving  with  her 
for  him,  yes,  by  grieving  with  her  for  him.  Ah ! 
my  little  lady,  little  do  you  dream  that  I  am  ply- 
ing a  secret  hand  to  destroy  those  foolish  air 
castles  that  are  being  built  up  by  you  and  that 
wayward  imp,  yes,  that  wayward  imp." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  dignitaries  of  the  Utah  Stake  of  Zion  were 
much  agitated  to  learn  that  the  surgeon  from 
Zion  had  reached  the  Garden  City  so  early,  and 
still  more  agitated  when  they  heard  that  the 
operation  was  over  and  that  Adrian  had  stood  it 
well,  and  that  the  surgeons  thought  the  chances 
were  good  for  his  recovery. 

They  had  been  bold  in  their  predictions  of  his 
certain  death  under  the  care  of  the  Gentile  doc- 
tors, and  felt  that  their  prophecies  must  not  fail. 
They  called  a  prayer  circle  of  the  stake,  and  in 
the  name  of  the  holy  prophets,  they  asked  that 
their  prophecies  might  be  fulfilled,  and  that  there 
might  be  an  immediate  dissolution  of  soul  and 
body  of  the  young  man. 

Three  weeks  later,  when  they  saw  that  he  was 
rapidly  recovering,  they  began  to  talk  quite 
differently,  and  to  say  to  the  people : — 

**If  it  had  not  been  that  we  laid  hands  on  him 
and  prayed  in  his  behalf,  those  flimsy  Gentiles, 
called  doctors,  would  have  found  quite  a  different 
task  to  bring  him  through. ' ' 

One  week  later,  Zina,  "The  Divine,"  had  a 
short  conference  with  Bishop  Lehman,  at  her 
room.      She  began  the  conversation  by  saying:  — 

**It  has  been  my  privilege  to  serve  thee  well, 
my  good  brother. ' ' 

219 


220  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

"Serve  me?     I  scarcely  divine  your  meaning." 

**Lola  thought  of  proposing  to  Adrian  that 
they  have  a  quiet  wedding  at  home,  and  not  go 
through  the  endowment,  thereby  avoiding  the 
setting  of  another  date." 

"Is  that  possible?" 

"It  is  not  only  possible,  but  a  fact.  '* 

"How  did  you  learn  this?" 

' '  Lola  so  stated  on  the  day  prior  to  their  in- 
tended wedding.  She  was  speaking  about  it  to 
her  mother  when  I  came  in,  and  she  asked  my 
advice.  Of  course  I  gave  it,  and,  with  it,  much 
flattery.  I  knew  I  had  to  throw  that  proposition, 
or  all  our  plans  would  crumble.  I  had  stated  in 
public,  as  well  as  in  private,  that  they  should 
never  marry,  unless  they  accept  the  holy  plural- 
ity; but,  of  course,  if  they  took  a  means  of  union 
which  the  holy  priesthood  scarcely  recognized, 
but  considered  low  in  its  tendencies  and  practice, 
we  would  simply  have  been  compelled  to  adopt 
some  other  plan  of  action.  I  gave  her  such  a 
talk  as  she  could  not  get  around,  clinching  the 
whole  by  adding  that  they  were  the  most  loved 
and  favored  of  any  couple  in  this  part  of  Zion, 
by  the  holy  priesthood.  I  then  bore  down  heav- 
ily on  the  point  of  their  incurring  the  displeasure 
of  the  chief  men  of  the  church,  if  they  should 
carry  out  this  plan.  It  shattered  her  intentions 
completely. ' ' 

As  Zina  spoke  these  words,  rather  animatedly, 
the   bishop   became   nervous.      His   face    turned 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  221 

red,  then  pale,  alternately,  as  he  combed  his  long 
grizzly  beard  with  his  fingers.  He  began  to  fully 
realize  that  he  might  have  lost  her — the  chief 
prize  of  the  church.  He  sat  for  some  time  in 
silence,  when  presently  he  uttered  the  words: 
**0  heavens!" 

Zina  looked  on  his  emotions  with  astonishment, 
and  also  with  a  degree  of  pleasure.  As  he 
uttered  these  words,  she  repeated: — 

"O  heavens!     Now  what  is  the  matter?" 

He  started,  as  if  being  aroused  from  sleep,  and 
said,  "I  was  just  thinking  of  how  gloomy  the 
world  would  be  if  I  should  lose  her." 

*'But  she  is  not  married!" 

'*Yes,  dear  sister;  what  if  they  should  deter- 
mine to  have  such  a  wedding,  when  refused  a 
recommend,  yes,  when  refused  a  recommend?" 

"Have  no  fear;  they  would  not  have  thought 
of  such  a  thing  if  Adrian  had  been  able  to  leave 
his  room  on  the  date  set  for  their  wedding. 
They  felt  that  they  ought  not  to  let  the  day  go 
by ;  but  it  has  passed,  and  there  is  no  danger  on 
that  score.  I  really  believe  you  are  in  love  with 
her  from  the  way  you  act. ' ' 

"In  love  with  her?  That  does  not  express  it. 
She  is  a  part  of  my  very  existence — I  say,  my 
very  existence.  I  love  her  better  than  I  dreamed 
it  possible  to  love,  yes,  possible  to  love.  Hear 
me,  Zina,  further" — 

"Well,  they  say  an  old  fool  is  the  biggest  fool, 
and   I  am   tempted  to  apply  the  saying  to  you. 


222  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

The  idea  of  an  old  man,  with  five  charming 
wives,  being  in  love  with  a  young  girl  like  Lola. 
Has  she  given  you  cause?" 

"Nothing  except  her  beauty  and  lovely  man- 
ners, I  say  lovely  manners.  " 

"But  love  ought  to  be  reciprocal,  and  I  am 
quite  sure  she  does  not  love  you. ' ' 

"I  understand  that;  but  if  that  young  man  was 
out  of  the  way,  I'd  have  her  love  me  in  return; 
yes,  I'd  make  her  love  me  in  return. " 

"You  may  force  her  to  yield,  but  never  to  love; 
besides  you  have  not  gotten  away  with  the  young 
fellow,  and  if  he  accepts  the  plurality,  you  will 
not  get  away  with  him,  as  the  powers  of  the 
church  would  turn  in  his  favor. ' ' 

"Ah!  that  is  perhaps  true,  but  the  young 
hedge-hog  will  never  accept  the  plurality — no, 
never  accept  the  plurality — remember  the  plu- 
rality." 

"Then  she  shall  be  yours." 

"The  thought  does  my  soul  good — yes,  good. 
How  I  prayed  that  he  would  die  from  the  effects 
of  his  wounds ;  but  he  is  recovering,  yes,  recov- 
ering.    Oh,  curse  the  fate,  curse  the  fate!" 

He  nervously  rubbed  his  hands  and  pulled  at 
his  beard ;  his  eyes  flashed  fire ;  the  veins  stood 
out  on  his  temples,  until  Zina  almost  feared  him. 
Continuing,  he  said:  "I  have  often  helped  the 
leaders  and  holy  counselors  of  the  church,  with 
all  my  strength  and  my  counsel,  whenever  a 
young  man  interfered  with  their  love  affairs,  and 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  223 

we  stopped  that  kind  of  foolishness.  If  it  had 
been  any  other  case  than  this  young  upstart,  he 
would  have  been  destroyed.  Have  such  things 
not  occurred  many  times,  yes,  many  times?" 

**Yes,  I  know,  but  you  must  be  reasonable. 
We  have  all  had  another  aim  in  view  in  this 
case,  and  that  was  to  win  both  of  the  families 
over." 

"Yes,  win  apostates,  by  wrecking  the  life  of 
one  as  faithful  as  I,  yes,  as  faithful  as  I." 

*' You  are  very  unreasonable  to-day.  The  times 
are  changing.  Gentiles  are  becoming  more 
numerous  every  day.  The  government  of  the 
United  States  is  establishing  its  so-called  courts 
in  our  very  midst.  Already  they  have  begun  the 
investigation  of  some  of  our  holy  sacrifices,  such 
as  the  sacred  Mountain  Meadow  affair.  They 
charge  upon  us  that  such  things  are  murder,  and 
even  our  own  people  objected  and  almost  made 
trouble  over  Evelyn  being  sacrificed.  Since 
James  and  Evelyn  were  sacrificed,  even  my  own 
husband  has  been  changed  to  a  degree." 

*'Oh,  curse  the  Gentiles,  and  curse  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States !  Would  that  the  Gen- 
tiles were  annihilated,  and  the  so-called  govern- 
ment destroyed.  It  begins  to  look  as  though 
Utah  would  become  a  state,  and  if  she  does,  we 
will  make  the  Gentiles  scamper ;  then  we  can  live 
our  religion  as  we  choose,  yes,  as  we  choose." 

"But  one  of  the  conditions  in  our  constitution 
is   that    we   do   away    with    the    plurality;    you 


2  24  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

remember  that  this  was  the  only  objection  that 
Mr.  Colfax  and  his  party  raised. ' ' 

"D — n  the  condition  in  the  constitution.  We 
will  get  statehood  on  that  condition,  then  inter- 
pret its  meaning  according  to  the  divine  rule, 
yes,  the  divine  rule. '  * 

"That  is  true,"  answered  Zina;  '* every  Saint 
understands  this  perfectly. ' ' 

Thanking  her  for  her  valuable  information  in 
regard  to  Adrian  and  Lola,  he  took  her  hand, 
squeezed  it,  pressed  it  to  his  lips,  and  bade  her 
good  bye. 

When  Lehman  was  gone,  Zina  closed  the  door 
behind  him.  She  strutted  back  and  forth  in  her 
room,  clad  in  her  flaming  scarlet  dress,  then 
seating  herself  in  front  of  her  mirror,  in  an  easy 
chair,  she  soliloquized: — 

"I  sympathize  with  the  bishop,  for  I  know  just 
how  he  feels.  He  is  such  a  dear,  innocent  man. 
He  didn't  hesitate  to  tell  me  of  his  love  for  Lola, 
but  if  he  had  dreamed  of  the  passionate  love  I 
have  for  Adrian,  he  would  not  have  unbosomed 
his  love  for  Lola  quite  so  freely.  I  said  to  him 
*that  love  should  be  reciprocated;*  so  it  should, 
and  I  am  determined  that  Adrian  shall  recipro- 
cate my  love  for  him  or  he  shall  suffer;  but  if  I 
win  his  love,  Lehman  shall  not  touch  him.  Under 
the  circumstances  I  am  forced  to  keep  my  love 
as  secret  as  the  grave,  except  to  Adrian.  I  dare 
not  let  the  leadership  understand  my  motive; 
but  at  times  my  feelings  almost  betray  me.     At 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  225 

his  bedside,  the  night  he  was  hurt,  my  sorrow 
and  anxiety  for  him  were  great ;  but  I  was  forced, 
by  reason  of  the  circumstances,  to  affect  belief 
that  the  elders  could  cure  him,  if  only  permitted 
to  remove  the  bandages;  yet  I  was  convinced 
that  it  would  have  been  a  dangerous  procedure. 
Women  are  more  just  than  men,  and  more 
resigned  to  conditions.  Take  Lehman,  for 
instance,  he  wants  Lola  all  to  himself,  and  wishes 
Adrian  out  of  his  way;  while  I  would  be  content 
with  only  part  of  Adrian's  love.  I  am  perfectly 
willing  for  him  to  love  Lola,  or  any  other  woman, 
if  he  will  only  love  me  also. '  * 

Then  looking  admiringly  at  herself  in  the  mir- 
ror, she  continued: — 

"There  is  not  the  great  difference  between  my 
age  and  Adrian's  that  there  is  between  Lehman's 
and  Lola's,  therefore  the  phrase  I  applied  to  his 
case  does  not  apply  to  mine.  I  have  not  a  wrin- 
kle in  my  face  and  but  very  few  gray  hairs;  and 
I  am  just  as  attractive  as  I  was  when  I  was 
twenty.  I  wouldn't  blame  Lola  to  rebel  against 
being  Lehman's  sixth,  for  he  isn't  at  all  fascinat- 
ing, and  lie  is  old  enough  for  her  grandfather ;  but 
it  is  very  often  the  case  that  dashing  young  men 
become  captivated  by  beautiful  women  like  me, 
even  if  they  are  a  little  older. " 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

About  this  time  the  affairs  of  the  Utah  Stake  of 
Zion  grew  turbulent  and  a  change  of  vast  impor- 
tance took  place  soon  afterward.  The  troubles 
occasioned  from  the  outrageous  treatment  and 
murder  of  Evelyn,  which  were  quelled  for  a  time, 
had  broken  out  afresh,  and  this,  together  with 
some  other  matters,  had  brought  contempt  upon 
the  heads  of  the  local  dignitaries,  especially  Pres- 
ident Bodenheimer,  whose  influence  was  rapidly- 
waning,  and  the  Saints  of  this  stake  were  divided 
into  three  or  four  factions. 

The  affairs  of  this  stake  were  going  from  bad 
to  worse,  and  were  very  unsatisfactory  to  the 
head  leaders  of  the  church,  as  well  as  the  people 
of  the  stake.  These  conditions  became  so  alarm- 
ing that  the  powers  at  Zion  felt  that  there  should 
be  one  of  the  strongest  men  in  the  church  at  the 
helm  in  this  stake.  They  cast  their  searching 
glance  about  them,  and  after  weighing  every- 
thing, they  selected  Abram  O.  Smoot  as  the  man 
most  suited  to  drive  this  unruly  flock. 

President  Smoot  was  a  man  of  powerful  phy- 
sique,— six  feet  and  three  inches  tall,  broad 
shoulders,  dark  complexion,  strong  intelligent 
face,  deep-sunken,  dark-gray  eyes  shaded  by 
extremely  heavy  eye-brows,  prominent  nose,  lips 

220 


THE    FALSB    STAR.  2^7 

closing'  tight  and  firm,  indicating"  determination. 
He  wore  his  whiskers  under  the  chin  from  ear 
to  ear.  He  was  possessed  of  much  vigor,  throw- 
ing energy  into  all  his  work.  He  spoke  with 
enthusiasm,  but  with  an  impediment  in  his  speech 
which  sometimes  caused  him  to  stammer. 

He  had  four  wives  and  many  children  to  charm 
his  earthly  surroundings  and  to  exalt  him  in  the 
future  life.  No  sooner  had  he  settled  himself  in 
his  new  field  than  a  committee  from  one  of  the 
factions  waited  upon  him  to  learn  which  side  he 
would  ally  himself  with.  He  at  once  announced 
to  them  that  his  policy  would  be  to  know  no  fac- 
tions; but,  on  the  contrary,  he  intended  to  work 
with  all  for  the  upbuilding  of  Zion  and  this  stake 
in  particular. 

Whereupon  he  was  immediately  notified  that 
he  was  not  needed  in  this  stake,  and  that  he  could 
not  stay  very  long,  as  he  would  be  run  out ;  but 
the  brethren  reckoned  without  their  host,  as  they 
soon  learned  that  he  had  come  to  stay.  He  soon 
brought  all  completely  under  his  control,  and 
they  learned  to  love  him  next  to  the  holy  prophet. 

He  did  much  to  build  up  this  stake  in  a  business 
way,  as  well  as  to  advance  the  cause  of  the 
church.  He  was  truly  the  woolen  mills  builder 
of  Zion.  He  built  and  established  one  of  the 
largest  and  best  woolen  mills  at  the  Garden  City 
that  is  west  of  the  Mississippi.  He  had  built  one 
previously  at  Zion.  He  started  co-operative 
mercantile  institutions  and  many  other  kinds  of 


228  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

business  throughout  the  stake.  He  enlistea  the 
aid  of  ^  all  the  brethren  in  this  work  and  encour- 
aged them  to  take  all  the  stock  that  they  could 
carry.  Both  the  Allisons  and  Walthams  took 
stock  in  these  various  institutions  to  the  extent 
of  thousands  of  dollars. 

In  order  to  further  strengthen  the  hands  of 
Brother  Smoot,  President  Young  decided  to  move 
to  the  Garden  City  with  one  of  his  families.  Prior 
to  this  he  had  held  a  residence  in  several  bloom- 
ing cities  of  Zion;  but  up  to  this  time  had  never 
held  an  actual  residence  in  the  fair  City  of  Gar- 
dens. 

He  began  the  construction  of  a  large  brick 
dwelling,  about  the  time  President  Smopt  began 
the  erection  of  two.  Brother  Brigham's  house 
was  built  with  the  front  as  a  residence  and  the 
back  as  a  large  barn,  with  a  carriage  shed  and 
driveway  between.  Everything  connected  with 
the  family  was  under  one  great  roof.  Here  in 
this  convenient  haven  was  to  dwell  his  fifteenth 
fair  queen,  and  here  the  prophet  made  his  home 
a  thirty-seventh  part  of  the  time,  until  his  death. 

The  advent  of  the  holy  prophet  to  this  stake  was 
a  time  for  great  rejoicing.  A  great  feast  was  to 
be  served,  such  as  had  never  before  been  wit- 
nessed in  all  of  Zion. 

The  brethren  had  many  causes  for  rejoicing, 
chief  among  which  was  the  flattering  prospect  of 
Utah's  early  admission  into  the  sisterhood  of 
states,  under  a  constitution  specially  prepared  to 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  229 

meet  the  requirements  of  Mr.  Colfax  and  party. 
Great  was  their  chagrin,  however,  when  within  a 
year  or  two  it  was  defeated;  and  instead  of  thd 
government  granting  statehood  to  the  land  o^ 
"scrip,"  its  officers  began  to  investigate  her 
infamous  crimes  and  to  prosecute  her  criminals. 

The  great  feast  was  to  be  given  in  the  month 
of  May,  at  the  cottonwood  grove  at  the  western 
edge  of  the  city.  The  day  arrived,  and  by  nine 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon  crowds  of  Saints  were 
coming  from  every  direction,  some  on  foot,  some 
•m  horseback,  while  others  came  in  all  kinds  of 
vehicles.    Each  family  brought  well-filled  baskets.' 

As  Adrian,  in  company  with  Lola,  drove 
through  the  gathering  crowds  and  took  a  general 
survey  of  all  around  him,  he  said  to  her  in  a  low 
tone : — 

"Lola,  it  grieves  me  sorely  to  think  of  our 
church  people  practicing  the  abominable  plural- 
ity. As  I  see  the  evidences  of  sorrow  and  blight 
that  it  brings  into  our  midst,  the  lack  of  virtue 
that  it  breeds  on  every  hand,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  contempt  we  bring  upon  ourselves  from  the 
outside  world,  I  sometimes  feel  that  I  will  revolt 
against  all  and  denounce  it ;  but  when  I  think  of 
the  bitter  fate  of  sweet  Evelyn  and  many  others 
and  also  the  trouble  that  it  would  bring  upon 
ourselves  and  our  parents,  I  crush  the  feeling^ 
and  keep   still.'* 

At  the  time  he  spoke  these  words,  but  a  few 
paces   from  them   a  man   and  his   family   were 


230  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

alighting  from  their  wagons.  The  man  had 
driven  the  foremost  wagon  witli  a  part  of  the 
family,  and  his  legal  wife  had  followed  in  another 
wagon  with  the  remainder.  The  family  consisted 
of  himself,  six  wives  and  thirty  children.  The 
man  was  not  yet  forty  years  of  age.  Immediately 
to  the  right,  on  the  sidewalk,  was  a  young  man 
with  a  wife  on  each  arm.  He  had  gone  through 
the  endowment  with  them  both  on  the  same  day, 
eight  months  prior.  Following  this  trio  was  a 
young  man  of  twenty  with  two  girls  about  the 
age  6f  seventeen ;  he  was  to  take  them  through 
the  endowment  on  the  next  Thursday  and  make 
them  his  brides,  consequently  they  attracted 
much  attention.  Similar  conditions  of  life  could 
be  seen  on  every  hand. 

It  was  necessary  for  all  the  Saints  to  attend  this 
feast  or  they  would  be  branded  with  the  terrible 
stigma  of  apostasy.  On  came  the  multitude,  and 
by  eleven  o'clock  fully  six  thousand  of  the  faith- 
ful had  gathered  on  the  ground.  All  was  excite- 
ment and  expectancy,  for  the  prophet,  escorted 
by  the  local  dignitaries,  was  soon  to  arrive  at  the 
grounds. 

Young  people,  children,  and  occasionally  an 
older  one  were  restlessly  moving  into  the  street, 
allowing  their  impatient  glances  to  sweep  the 
long  thoroughfare,  but  saw  nothing  for  a  long 
time  but  the  base  of  the  rising  mountain  where 
now  stands  the  state  insane  asylum. 

All  the  women  were  busily  engaged  in  prepar- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  231 

ing  the  tables,  which  consisted  of  six  temporary- 
board  tables,  each  four  feet  wide  and  a  hundred 
feet  long,  stretching  north  and  south  through  the 
dense  grove.  On  every  hand  was  heard  the  wail 
of  neglected  infants,  while  each  enthusiastic 
mother  vied  with  her  neighbor  in  the  work  of  thie 
holy  cause;  hurrying  to  and  fro  with  reddened 
face,  hair  half  down  and  dangling  in  the  breeze. 
The  men  moved  the  baskets  and  boxes  laden  with 
the  provisions  to  the  desired  places,  while  all 
were  talking  in  a  loud  voice.  Some  were  laugh- 
ing and  joking,  and  others  were  saying  boast- 
ingly,  *'We  Saints  are  such  jolly  and  happy  peo- 
ple, ' '  while  loud-mouthed  hawkers  cried  here  and 
there  **ice-cold  lemonade,"  '*peanuts,"  pop- 
corn," "candy,"  and  still  other  cries  could  be 
heard  above  the  rest,  "cold  beer,"  "dixie- wine," 
"hard-cider,"  "whisky."  Crowds  marched 
here  and  there,  gaily  talking,  and  liberally  pat- 
ronizing these  various  places,  as  they  flourished 
their  Mormon  money  (scrip)  on  every  hand. 
Suddenly  a  shrill  voice  rang  out: — 

"You're  a  malicious  falsifier." 

A  hush  fell  upon  the  scene.  Instantly  another 
voice  was  heard: — 

"You  know  good  and  well  that  you  encouraged 
my  husband  to  come  away  from  home,  leaving 
me  to  carry  my  basket  and  baby  a  full  mile.  In 
order  to  induce  him  to  do  such  a  disgraceful  trick 
you  told  him  my  lunch  was  in  your  basket.  You 
thought  I  wouldn't  say  anything  about  it  before 


232  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

the  folks,  but  I  am  determined  to  teach  you  a 
lesson,  you  old  hussy." 

*'Now,  Jezebel,  I  had  him  first;  if  you  don't 
like  the  way  we  do  you  can  get  up  and  scamper. ' ' 

Then  came  scratching  and  hair-pulling;  the 
loving  husband,  with  heroic  bravery,  rushed  in  to 
separate  the  combatants,  while  the  numerous 
mother-in-law  stood  in  various  places  looking  on 
with  much  agitation  and  concern. 

Willy  Allison  was  sitting  by  Adrian  and  Lola, 
near  the  scene  of  the  fray,  and  said : — 

"Those  two  old  dowdies  have  had  a  laying-on 
of  hands.  *  * 

At  this  moment  a  hundred  voices  went  up  from 
the  street,  **Our  holy  prophet  cometh!"  *'The 
prophet  is  coming!"  "Hurrah  for  our  holy 
king!" 

Quickly  a  mad  rush  was  made  for  the  best 
point  of  vantage  from  which  they  could  view  the 
place  where  he  was  to  descend  from  the  carriage. 
It  was  almost  a  mile  from  where  the  great  man 
came  into  the  street  leading  to  the  ground,  and 
when  he  arrived,  everything  was  in  readiness  for 
his  reception. 

As  the  carriages  arrived  at  the  place  designated 
for  them  to  stop,  a  hundred  little  girls,  dressed  in 
pure  white,  formed  in  line  on  either  side  of  the 
path  from  the  carriage  to  the  grand-stand  erected 
at  the  north  end  of  the  tables.  These  children 
had  been  chosen  as  the  prettiest  little  girls  of  all 
the  stake  and  no  pains  had  been  spared  in  pre- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  233 

paring  their  toilets,  as  they  were  to  represent  the 
Seraphim.  Each  child  carried  a  large  bunch  of 
Sago  lilies.  As  the  prophet  alighted  from  the 
carriage,  the  children  scattered  the  flowers  in  his 
path,  that  his  holy  feet  might  not  touch  the 
ground  until  he  reached  the  stand.  This  part  of 
the  program  was  a  tribute  to  his  purity. 

The  prophet,  accompanied  by  other  dignitaries, 
among  them  Blatherskite  and  Lehman,  trod  the 
flowery  path,  followed  by  their  wives  with  Zina, 
*'The  Divine,"  leading  the  van  of  the  feminine 
division.  After  all  had  passed,  the  once  beau- 
tiful lilies,  emblems  of  purity,  were  crushed  and 
buried  in  the  dust  by  the  feet  of  these  standard- 
bearers  of  the  blessed  (?)  plurality. 

An  hour  was  spent  in  social  conversation ;  order 
and  quiet  prevailed,  manifesting  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  actions  of  the  assembly  before  the 
arrival  of  the  anointed.  All  now  moved  about 
the  work  assigned  with  strict  order  and  decorum. 

The  feast  over,  the  president  of  the  stake 
outlined  his  policy ;  the  prophet  discoursed  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  on  various  subjects;  and,  as 
usual,  Bishop  Lehman  closed  this  part  of  the 
program  in  a  ringing  speech.  Lehman's  fiery 
harangues  always  left  a  sweet  savor  which  was 
enjoyed  in  the  highest  degree  by  most  of  the 
brethren.  After  a  long  addrefss  he  closed  his 
remarks  as  follows: — 

"In  conclusion,  my  brethren,  permit  me  to  say 
a  word  upon  the  glorious  prospects  of  state- hood 


234  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

for  our  fair  Territory.  We  have  petitioned  for 
this  simple  boon  many,  many  times,  but  never 
before  has  it  seemed  so  promising  as  now.  I 
verily  believe  that  the  dawning  of  that  happy 
event  is  near.  Then  shall  the  fetters  and  shackles 
that  have  bound  us  be  broken  and  this  govern- 
ment of  oppression  and  its  debased  and  lustful 
officers  cannot  trample  on  our  rights  no  more  for- 
ever; then  shall  God's  chosen  people  be  free  to 
enter  upon  the  conversion  and  conquest  of  the 
world,  yes,  the  conquest  of  the  world. "  ("  Hear, ' ' 
"hear,"  **hurrah,"  "hurrah,"  shouted  the  mul- 
titude.) 

"The  first  that  shall  fall  before  us  as  a  broken 
twig  is  this  so-called  republic.  Some  have  been 
pleased  to  entitle  it,  'The  land  of  the  free,  and  the 
home  of  the  brave;'  but  I  here  declare  unto  you, 
O  my  people,  that  it  is  the  land  of  greed  and  the 
home  of  cowards.  Did  not  their  hosts  of  braves 
quail  before  a  handful  of  God's  servants?  I  say 
further,  brethren,  that  they  are  a  band  of  blood- 
thirsty villains.  They  have  committed  every 
crime  that  can  be  mentioned  against  God's 
chosen  people.  They  burned  us  out  in  Ohio, 
mobbed  and  drove  us  out  of  Missouri,  murdered 
our  prophet  and  his  brother,  and  drove  us  from 
Illinois;  then,  when  we,  the  embodiment  of 
holiness,  led  by  God's  own  hand,  fled  across  the 
plains  of  desolation  to  seek  a  haven  of  bliss  in 
these  valleys,  they  followed  us  like  the  hounds 
that  they  are. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  235 

"We  petitioned  old  Van  Buren  for  redress, 
whereupon  he  answered  us  in  these  pitiful  words : 
'Your  cause  is  just,  but  I  can  do  nothing  for  you. ' 
He  made  the  flimsy  excuse  that  it  was  out  of  his 
jurisdiction,  and  within  the  province  of  the  state 
courts  and  their  officers  to  prosecute  men  for 
crimes  committed  within  their  borders.  I  say 
d — n  such  a  policy  and  such  a  nation,  but  we  will 
use  this  power  when  we  get  statehood,  yes,  when 
we  get  statehood. "  [Cheers  and  shouts  of  *'good, 
good."] 

"I  say  unto  you,  O  my  people,  that  we  shall 
hold  this  band  of  oppressors  who  rule  this  nation 
responsible  for  all  this  dastardly  work.  These 
crimes  will  yet  be  the  rock  upon  which  their 
great  ship  of  State  shall  strike  and  split  asimder. 
The  work  shall  begin  with  the  establishment  of 
the  holy  State  of  Deseret. ' ' 

Then  raising  his  voice  to  its  highest  pitch  he 
closed  with  these  prophetic  words,  as  he  struck 
the  table  in  front  of  him  a  violent  blow : — 

*'For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  O  my  people,  that 
the  blood  of  the  Prophet  Joseph  and  his  brother 
shall  be  avenged  upon  this  accursed  land,  then 
upon  other  lands,  one  by  one,  until  the  whole 
world  shall  bow  at  our  shrine,  and  their  chief 
rulers  will  be  proud  to  be  our  servants,  yes,  to  be 
our  servants." 

Whereupon  the  Saints  arose  almost  to  a  man, 
cheered  and  cheered  again  to  the  echo.  When 
the  din  was  sufficiently  quiet.  Old  Baird  managed 


236  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  get  Upon  a  box  at  the  lower  end  of  one  of  the 
tables.  Waving  his  hat  over  his  head  he  shouted : 
'  *  Hu  -r-r-ah  for  Brother  Lehman. ' ' 
This  caused  great  laughter  and  renewed  cheer- 
ing and  turned  the  attention  of  the  crowd  to  him 
as  he  further  said : — 

"  '  Hie, '  Brother  Lehman,  you  are  a  brick.  *  Hie, ' 
there  is  no  goat's  wool  on  you.  It's  all,  *hic,* 
pure  undefiled  lamb's  fleece — it  is,  by  jove,  or 
I'm  not  Henglish." 

A  merry  shout  went  up  as  the  old  man  stag- 
gered and  sank  down  to  his  box. 

After  spending  a  few  hours  at  dancing  and 
carousing"  the  crowd  grew  more  boisterous  than 
it  was,  even  before  the  arrival  of  the  anointed, 
then  they  began  to  take  their  departure  for  home. 
At  the  general  breaking  up  of  the  gathering  it 
was  dangerous  for  a  person  to  be  on  foot  in  the 
road,  on  account  of  the  young  men  that  were 
recklessly  riding  bareback  on  mustangs  with  only 
halters  around  the  necks  of  the  animals. 

As  Adrian  and  Lola  drove  home,  he  was  lost  in 
deep  study.  Lola  tried  to  converse  with  him  on 
the  events  of  the  day,  but  could  not  get  him 
interested.  As  he  helped  her  from  the  buggy  at 
her  home,  she  asked : — 

**What  is  it  that  is  troubling  you,  Adrian?" 
"Why,  my  dear,  nothing  in  particular." 
**Are  you  fatigued,  or  not  feeling  well?" 
**No,  I  am  not  fatigued,  why  do  you  ask?" 
**You  seem  worried  and  it  troubles  me." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  9$J 

**I  will  return  at  half-past  eight,  and  tell  you 
all." 

As  he  said  this  he  stepped  into  the  buggy  and 
drove  away. 

*  *  I  do  wonder  what  can  trouble  him, '  *  she  mused, 
as  she  slowly  walked  into  the  house ;  then  turning 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  him,  she  waved  her  handker- 
chief to  him  as  he  turned  the  corner  and  passed 
from  view. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Adrian  came  at  the  appointed  time.  Lola  had 
anxiously  awaited  his  coming  to  learn  the  cause 
of  his  troubled  and  anxious  appearance  in  the 
afternoon. 

These  young  people's  perceptions  of  right  and 
justice  between  their  fellow  men  had  been  culti- 
vated to  the  highest  degree  possible  in  the  midst 
of  their  unfortunate  surroundings.  Their  home 
influences  were  the  best;  but  farther  than  this, 
they  were  surrounded  by  a  people  who  hesitated 
not  at  stooping  to  the  direst  extremity  to  force 
their  infamous  practices,  with  all  of  its  blighting 
effects,  upon  all  who  came  within  their  grasp. 

Adrian  mused  as  he  drove  from  the  scenes  of 
the  day,  "All  that  I  have  seen  and  heard  to-day 
with  reference  to  my  church  is  wholly  wrong  in 
my  mind.  Much  is  disloyal  and  base.  A  people 
who  will  seek  to  become  a  part  of  a  government 
in  order  to  the  better  carry  out  their  crimes  and 
work  to  the  end  of  finally  overthrowing  that  gov- 
ernment, cannot  be  other  than  wrong.  Some 
things  that  our  people  practice  is  base,  for  the 
reason  that  its  aim  has  ever  been  to  degrade  hu- 
manity, by  transforming  the  homes  of  virtue, 
morality,  and  purity,  which  come  from  a  proper 
union  of  one  man  and  woman,  into  a  brawling 
harem." 

938 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  239 

He  had  never  felt  the  influence  of  the  leader- 
ship upon  this  question  before,  but  from  the 
meager  advice  given  him  at  the  feast  by  his 
bishop  he  felt  an  uneasiness  as  to  just  what  was 
in  store  for  himself  and  Lola. 

She  gave  him  a  welcome  greeting  at  the  door, 
and  as  they  walked  into  the  parlor,  he  said : — 

"Lola,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  come  to 
see  you  with  a  heavy  heart. " 

**I  am  sorry  to  know  this,  but  tell  me  what  it 
is,*'  she  said,  as  they  were  seated. 

**It  seems  to  me  that  some  people  in  this  world 
would  like  to  make  it  a  place  of  torture  rather 
than  a  home  of  happiness.'* 

"Why  do  you  speak  in  this  manner,  Adrian? 
I  do  not  comprehend  your  meaning." 

"O,  charming  one,  I  would  not  have  you  in 
doubt  as  to  my  meaning !  As  the  sun  was  sink- 
ing behind  the  western  mountains  at  parting  I 
promised  to  explain  to  you  at  this  hour  that  which 
burdened  my  mind.  I  am  here  for  that  specific 
purpose.  I  would  not  disappoint  nor  deceive 
you.  Deception,  I  hope,  is  not  a  part  of  my 
being,  and  I  pray  to  God  that  it  may  never  be; 
yet  I  belong  to  an  organization  which  teaches 
and  practices  deception,  from  its  prophet  down 
to  its  block  teachers,  and  which  tries  to  force  all 
within  the  circle  to  do  the  same.  Not  only  do  I 
belong,  but  our  parents,  Willy,  and  all  of  our 
friends,  except  a  very  few,  are  members  of  it.  It 
has  not  been  my  good  fortune  tomeet  twentypeople 


24©  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

outside  of  it,  and  above  all,  there  is  another 
member,  one  that  is  dearer  to  me  than  life  itself 
whose  every  thought  and  act  is  as  pure  as  the 
icicle  on  our  holy  temple.  You,  sweet  one,  you 
are  a  member.  I  feel,  at  times,  that  I  would 
like  to  flee  away  with  those  I  love,  yourself,  our 
parents,  Willy,  Jed,  and  poor  little,  neglected 
Lily,  to  some  place  where  we  could  have  our 
rights,  and  away  from  such  scenes  as  we  have 
witnessed  to-day.  I  sometimes  doubt  every  per- 
son I  know  outside  of  this  little  band  I  have 
mentioned,  except  Vernon  Stanton.  There 
were  three  others  whom  I  knew  to  be  honorable, 
but  they  are  gone.  Sister  Rhoda  and  poor  Eve- 
lyn were  martyrs  to  virtue  and  honor ;  one  died 
of  a  broken  heart,  and  the  other  was  most  foully 
murdered.  The  third  was  James!  poor  James! 
where,  oh,  where  is  he?  The  thought  sometimes 
comes  to  my  mind  that  he,  too,  has  met  with  foul 
play  at  the  hands  of  this  same  organization — our 
church.  Search  through  the  pages  of  history  and 
you  will  find  no  darker  deeds  recorded  than  have 
been  committed  by  members  of  this  church  under 
the  direction  of  the  priesthood." 

As  he  spoke,  the  fire  of  anger  flashed  from  his 
usually  mild  countenance.  His  very  soul  seemed 
inflamed  with  rage,  as  he  wildly  gesticulated  and 
emphasized  every  particular. 

"O,  Adrian!  I  never  saw  you  so  agitated 
before.    Why  cio  ygy^  speak  §9  disparagingly  of 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  94I 

"For  the  reason  that  it  deserves  it.  A  church 
and  its  leaders  should  be  above  reproach,  should 
it  not?" 

**I  think  so." 

*'Is  ours  above  reproach?" 

**I  must  confess  it  is  not." 

**You  are  right,  my  darling,  in  your  confession. 
A  church  or  any  other  organization,  whose  leaders 
will  speak  as  ours  have  spoken  on  this  date  about 
this  great  government  cannot  hold  my  respect. 
It  tempts  me  to  revolt  at  once ;  but  when  I  am 
impressed  that  perhaps  this  step  might  bring 
misery  to  all  I  love  and  that  you  might  meet  the 
fate  of  Evelyn,  it  almost  turns  my  brain  and 
causes  me  to  hesitate.  Lola,  this  is  certainly  the 
best  government  under  the  sun,  or  history  is 
false.  Our  people  have  ever  sought  to  get  suffi- 
cient power  in  their  hands  in  order  to  keep  down 
prosecutions  for  crimes  that  would  put  to  shame 
the  most  infamous  bandit  of  earth.  I  might  be 
able  to  stand  all  of  this,  however  much  it  might 
oppose  my  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  if  they 
would  stop  there;  but  when  they  attempt  to 
meddle  with  our  private  affairs — affairs  which  I 
know  belong  to  you  and  me  alone,  except  per- 
haps our  parents,  then  I  object,  and  it  is  my 
intention  to  register  that  objection  in  the  strong- 
est mode  consistent  with  safety. '  * 

"You  shock  me.  What  do  you  mean  by  med- 
dling with  our  private  affairs?" 

"My  love,  listen  further.     J  had  a  short  intei*- 

W 


242  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

view  with  our  bishop  just  before  leaving  the 
grove ;  it  was  while  you  were  dancing  with  the 
prophet.  I  said  to  Brother  Blatherskite,  'I  think 
I  will  be  around  to  see  you  within  the  week  on  a 
little  private  business. '  He  bowed  in  his  accus- 
tomed way,  and  asked,  'May  I  know  the  mission 
of  your  calling?'  I  then  stated  to  him  that  I  had 
no  objection  to  offer  why  he  should  not  know.  I 
then  said  that  I  wanted  a  recommend  for  you  and 
me  to  go  through  the  endowment.  Whereupon 
he  said,  'Are  you  going  to  take  but  one?'  'Bitt 
one,'  said  I;  'is  not  that  sufficient  when  she  is 
all  the  world  to  me?'  'Whom  did  you  say  it  is  to 
be?'  he  asked;  and  when  I  told  him,  he  said,  'You 
must  either  make  her  a  second  or  take  another 
at  the  same  time.     It  is  so  revealed. '  ' ' 

"O  Adrian,  is  it  possible  that  he  said  this?" 

**Yes,  he  said  those  very  words,  my  love." 

**0  Heaven  defend  us  from  such  a  fate,"  she 
cried,  wringing  her  hands. 

"Had  not  the  dance  closed  at  that  time,  I  do 
not  know  what  I  would  have  done.  I  was  almost 
dazed.  You  came  to  me  at  this  time,  we  got  our 
things  and  came  away,  but  I  could  not  act  nat- 
ural. For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  felt  like 
doing  something  desperate." 

"God  forbid  that  you  should  ever  do  a  desper- 
ate deed ;  but  Adrian,  my  only  love,  you  will  not 
comply?" 

"Comply?     No,  never!" 

"Your  answer  brings  happiness  to  my   soul; 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  243 

yet  I  fear  the  terrible  consequences  that  may 
grow  out  of  what  he  has  said. ' ' 

"Ah,  Lola,  I  could  see  an  ominous  look  in  his 
every  expression." 

With  this  Lola  gave  way  to  her  feelings  and 
wept  bitterly,  as  she  repeated  between  sobs : — 

"Why  was  I  endowed  with  life,  if  this  is  to  be 
my  fate?" 

Then  taking  her  in  his  arms  and  kissing  her 
tears  away,  he  said : — 

"You  were  endowed  with  life  for  me,  sweet 
one,  and  I  for  you.  No  other  being  can  ever 
usurp  my  love  or  share  any  part  thereof  with 
you ;  we  will  go  to-morrow  and  so  declare  to  the 
bishop. ' ' 

A  death -like  silence  fell  upon  the  two  as  they 
sat  in  deep  meditation,  striving  to  cast  aside  the 
dark  veil  of  the  future  and  read  what  was  in  store 
for  them.  They  had  much  to  study  about,  and 
many  thoughts  to  terrify  them.  They  had  seen 
their  friends  blighted  or  cut  off  in  the  bloom  of 
youth  for  opposing  the  invisible  power  that  sur- 
rounded them.  When  Adrian  uttered  his  closing 
remark  in  solemn  tones,  he  shuddered  at  the 
sound  of  his  own  words.  His  words  were  in 
accord  with  the  yearnings  of  Lola's  heart,  yet  she 
feared  to  encourage  so  bold  a  stand.  Presently 
she  said :  — 

"Dear  Adrian,  we  must  move  with  the  greatest 
caution  in  this  matter.  A  dark  abyss  seems  to 
yawn  before  me  as  I  endeavor  to  read  the  future. 


244  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

A  warning  comes  to  me  which  tells  me  that  if  we 
make  one  misstep  then  all  our  earthly  happiness 
is  lost  forever,  and  we  with  our  beloved  parents 
may  be  dashed  down  its  mighty  precipice  into  its 
terrible  depths.  I,  therefore,  beseech  you  to  act 
for  your  safety ;  for  without  you  earth  would  be 
a  void,  and  sorrow  would  shadow  my  whole  life. " 

**  Your  counsel  is  ever  good ;  but  the  thoughts  of 
their  advising  me  to  make  you  a  second,  or  to 
take  another  to  share  my  heart's  love  with  you, 
racks  my  brain.  To  divide  my  love  and  company 
between  you  and  another  would  be  an  injustice 
to  you  that  I  shall  not  be  guilty  of.  I  faced  a 
mighty  lion  to  save  us  from  destruction,  he  was 
ferocious;  now  I  face  a  monster  that  is  loath- 
some, disgusting,  and  dangerous;  but  I  shall  not 
falter,  for  I  fight  for  honor  and  you." 

* '  But  Adrian,  let  us  plead  with  our  leaders  and 
pray  that  we  may  get  along  without  trouble." 

*'Fear  me  not,  Lola.  We  will  resort  to  every 
means  we  can  devise  to  save  ourselves  from 
destruction  or  our  parents  from  harm;  but  if 
matters  come  to  the  worst,  let  us  die  with  as  much 
courage  as  Evelyn." 

**I  agree  to  your  suggestion,  but  what  if  it 
should  also  involve  the  destruction  of  our 
parents?" 

**That  might  cause  me  to  hesitate,  but  nothing 
else  would." 

**  Adrian,   you  express  the  sentiments  pf  my 

mind,  an4  >v^  will  agt  in  unison," 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  245 

"I  will  arrange  a  meeting  with  the  bishop  to- 
morrow at  four  o'clock." 

Then  rising  to  go  he  took  her  gently  in  his 
arms,  and  pressing  her  to  his  breast,  said:  — 

"Now  may  the  holy  angels  guard  you  while 
you  sleep." 

As  he  pressed  his  lips  to  hers  the  tears  fell 
freely  from  their  eyes.  A  kind  **good  night" 
came  from  the  noble-hearted  young  man,  which 
was  answered  amid  sobs  by  his  love  as  they 
parted. 

Though  apart,  yet  their  thoughts  were  with 
each  other,  grieving  not  so  much  for  self  as  for 
each  other's  sorrows  and  troubles.  No  sleep 
came  to  either  during  that  sad  night 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  dawn  came;  it  was  a  perfect  morning. 
The  canon  breeze  gently  swept  its  cooling  breath 
among  the  trees.  The  cock's  shrill  notes  an- 
nounced the  dawn  of  another  day.  The  warbling 
notes  of  many  a  bird  could  be  heard  on  every 
hand,  hailing  with  joy  the  approach  of  the  glori- 
ous sunlight.  Old  Timpanogos,  at  its  highest 
tide,  restlessly  dashing  and  plunging,  was  roar- 
ing in  the  distance.  Lola  could  not  rest.  The 
long,  dreary  night  had  thrown  her  into  feverish 
unrest.  She  longed  for  the  open  air  of  the  clear, 
cool  morning.  She  arose  and  dressed  herself  in 
her  loose-fitting  morning  gown  and  was  soon  in 
the  yard  among  the  trailing  vines  and  blooming 
flowers.  Her  heart  was  heavy,  and  her  face  wore 
a  sad  expression.  Since  the  last  setting  of  the 
sUn  all  the  world  seemed  changed  to  her.  She 
wandered  around  looking  at  the  flowers,  scarcely 
realizing  her  own  movements;  finally,  she  went 
to  a  large  swing,  which  Willy  had  constructed 
under  the  tall  trees  in  the  side  yard,  and  seating 
herself  in  the  swing,  admired  the  beautiful  scenes 
around  her  and  noted  the  happiness  of  the  animate 
objects  in  such  contrast  to  her  own  unhappy  feel- 
ings. *'Poor  Adrian,"  she  murmured,  many 
times,  as  she  restlessly  swung  to  and  fro.     The 

246 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  247 

sun  was  rising,  but  the  populace  of  the  city  was 
still  wrapt  in  slumber,  resting  from  the  fatigue 
of  the  celebration. 

Adrian  had  also  sought  the  open  air,  in  hope 
of  gaining  some  relief  for  his  troubled  mind.  He 
unconsciously  wandered  along  the  walk  in  front 
of  the  Allison  home,  and  as  he  glanced  at  the 
house  he  said  to  himself: — 

*'I  pray  that  she  has  had  a  better  night's  rest 
than  I  have  experienced." 

No  sooner  had  he  uttered  these  words  than  a 
magpie,  which  belonged  to  Lola,  alighted  on  the 
fence  just  in  front  of  him,  and  said  plainly, 
**Poor  Adrian."  He  was  startled.  Where  had 
the  bird  gotten  that  phrase,  and  so  appropriate 
to  his  present  feelings.  He  stopped  to  take 
notice  of  it,  when  it  repeated  the  same  words. 
Presently  he  said  to  himself: — 

**The  bird  has  heard  the  expression  many 
times,  as  they  never  say  anything  until  it  has 
been  repeated  in  their  hearing  often.  Where 
has  it  heard  that  expression?" 

At  this  moment  it  flew  and  lit  on  a  trellis  near 
the  swing  where  Lola  was  seated.  Her  back 
was  toward  him,  and  he  stole  silently  near  to 
her,  when  he  heard  her  speak  the  same  words 
the  magpie  had  spoken,  in  a  low  plaintive  tone, 
when  the  bird  repeated  the  words  again  after 
her. 

He  drew  away  unobserved,  and  with  a  deep 
sigh,    he   said,  "Poor    girl,    my  sweet  unhappy 


248  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Lola, ' '  as  the  tears  rushed  freely  to  his  swollen 
eyes.  He  turned  and  looked  at  her  again  before 
passing  out  of  view. 

*' Beautiful  beyond  comparison,"  he  said,  then 
paused.  "Why  is  it  so  planned  that  all  our  hopes 
of  happiness  should  be  so  cruelly  wrecked?  Cer- 
tainly our  holy  divines  will  not  be  so  cruel  as  to 
prolong  this  state  of  misery. " 

He  went  home  and  at  once  informed  his 
parents  of  his  unhappy  condition ;  and,  when  all 
were  made  acquainted  with  the  trouble,  many 
were  the  expressions  of  sorrow  and  sympathy  for 
them  in  each  household  during  that  day.  Many 
were  the  regrets  that  the  priesthood  would  persist 
in  meddling  in  matters  which  did  not  concern 
them,  and  many  were  the  suggestions  as  to  the 
manner  and  mode  of  procedure. 

Willy  was  wild  with  rage,  and  talked  of  taking 
his  gun  and  hunting  for  those  old  "warts"  who 
had  brought  so  much  trouble  to  his  sister  and 
Adrian. 

During  the  forenoon,  Adrian  drove  to  Bishop 
Blatherskite's  to  arrange  for  the  meeting  at  four 
in  the  afternoon.  The  arrangement  completed, 
he  took  Lola  for  a  short  drive  and  did  everything 
in  his  power  to  soothe  the  unhappy  girl.  It  was 
some  comfort  to  them  to  be  in  each  other's  com- 
pany and  to  discuss  the  various  plans  that  would 
come  to  each  to  guide  them  in  their  future  con- 
duct. They  fully  resolved  that  death  itself 
would  be  preferable  to  the   accursed   plurality. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  249 

Every  plan  suggested  was  confronted  by  the 
horrible  intimation  of  the  bishop  as  to  the  reve- 
lation, which  raised  before  them  like  a  great 
pillar  of  darkness  completely  shutting  off  the 
way. 

Returning  home  they  felt  much  refreshed  from 
their  drive ;  then  taking  their  lunch  they  prepared 
to  go  to  the  meeting.  At  the  appointed  time 
they  appeared  at  his  office  and  found  him  in  wait- 
ing, but  in  close  conversation  with  Zina,  *'The 
Divine."  She  withdrew  on  their  entering  the 
room,  after  kissing  Lola  and  giving  Adrian  a 
hearty  hand- shake. 

As  soon  as  she  was  gone  the  bishop  said: — 

**Well,  my  young  brother  and  sister,  how  do 
you  do  this  afternoon,  and  how  did  you  enjoy  the 
splendid  celebration  yesterday?  I  presume  you 
are  as  happy  as  magpies  when  they  have  enough 
to  eat?" 

They  bowed  politely  as  Adrian  answered  him : 

*'It  has  not  been  our  good  fortune  to  feel  very 
happy  to-day. '  * 

"Indeed,  and  may  I  ask  the  cause?" 

**I  do  not  know  of  anything  to  prevent  you 
doing  so. ' ' 

"Then,  I  pray  thee  speak  of  it,  tell  me  thy 
ills,  if  any  there  be." 

"It  is  what  you  said  to  me  yesterday  that  has 
caused  us  so  much  unhappiness. " 

"What,  brother?  What,  I  pray?  Upon  my 
soul,  I  do  not  remember  to  have  said  anything 


250  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

that  would  be  calculated  to  give  either  of  you 
the  least  discomfort.      Explain  thyself,  Adrian!" 

*'Do  you  remember  our  conversation  just  before 
leaving  the  grounds?" 

** Perfectly  well,"  said  the  bishop,  as  he  looked 
over  his  eyeglasses  searchingly,  alternately  at  one 
and  then  the  other,  affecting  much  surprise  that 
they  should  be  agitated  at  what  he  had  said. 

"You  stated  at  that  time,  when  I  spoke  to  you 
about  coming  to  see  you  for  a  recommend  for 
Lola  and  me  to  go  through  the  endowment,  that 
I  should  take  another  at  the  same  time,  or  make 
Lola  a  second. ' ' 

"I  remember  it  perfectly,  and  so  state  again." 

"That  is  the  direct  cause  of  our  unhappiness. " 

"Ha!  ha!  ha!  How  foolish  some  of  you  young 
folks  are.  Thou  didst  not  allow  such  an  holy 
proposition  as  that  to  disturb  thee,  I  hope?" 

"I  don't  care  to  discuss  the  holiness  of  the 
proposition,  but  we  have  our  rights  and  they 
should  not  be  interfered  with;  what  you  have 
suggested,  if  carried  out,  would  make  us  both 
miserable  the  rest  of  our  days. " 

"Well,  all  I  have  to  say  is  that  some  young 
lads  and  lasses  not  far  from  here  will  get  over 
such  foolishness  as  they  grow  older." 

"Foolishness?  I  heartily  agree  with  you  that 
the  proposition  for  me  to  take  another  than  Lola 
is  not  only  foolish  but  infamous  in  the  extreme, 
and  will  not  be  heeded  by  us.  You  certainly  did 
not  mean  such  a  thing. '  * 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  25 1 

**If  the  divine  revelation  of  the  holy  prophet  is 
disobeyed  by  thee  then  it  were  far  better  that 
neither  of  you  had  been  born. " 

*'I  do  not  believe  he  had  such  a  revelation." 

"Adrian  Walt  ham,  dost  thou  doubt  what  I  say?" 

' '  Did  he  tell  you  that  he  had  such  a  revela- 
tion?" 

**Hedid." 

"What  were  his  words?" 

*'He  stated  that  he  had  received  a  revelation 
that  thou  and  this  fair  sister  were  to  be  united  on 
one  of  two  conditions  only,  and  that  they  were 
these :  Either  thou  takest  two  at  the  same  time, 
counting  this  one  the  first,  or  take  another  first  and 
Sister  Lola  later,  in  which  case  she  will  be  thy 
second.  See,  my  good  brother,  how  liberal  and 
just  this  revelation  is,  leaving  it  absolutely  to  your 
own  discretion  as  to  whether  you  will  make  her 
your  first  or  second.  Could  anything  be  more 
reasonable?" 

Lola  could  suppress  her  feelings  no  longer. 
She  knew  that  rather  than  submit  to  such  a  prop- 
osition Adrian  would  yield  his  life  in  sacrifice. 
She  wrung  her  hands  and  fell  upon  her  knees 
before  the  bishop,  and  said  in  pleading  tones :  — 

"O  dear  Bishop,  counselor  of  things  most 
sacred,  is  it  possible  that  this  cannot  be  changed?' ' 

"God  is  unchangeable. " 

"But,  divine  sir,  might  there  be  some  mistake?" 

"There  is  no  mistake,  the  decree  has  gone  forth 
from  on  High. '  * 


252  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

'*But  may  we  implore  our  holy  prophet  to  con- 
sult the  divine  powers  again  upon  this  question 
that  is  all  important  to  us?  As  you  were  talking 
to  Adrian  at  the  feast,  the  prophet  conversed  so 
kindly  with  me — he  talked  of  the  goodness  of 
God,  and  said  we  should  all  strive  to  obtain  a 
home  of  happiness  there  in  that  heavenly  land. 
O  sir !  If  this  has  gone  forth  as  an  unchangeable 
decree  of  Heaven's  all-powerful  Judge,  then, 
indeed,  will  I  regret  my  lot  during  the  ages  of 
eternity,  if  I  should  be  so  fortunate  as  to  secure 
the  fairest  mansion  in  that  land.  Oh,  my  God! 
There  must  be  some  mistake. ' ' 

'*Fair  sister,  thy  words  are  piteous  and  move  me 
to  tears ;  but  I  cannot  change  the  revelation.  I 
will  call  the  prophet  if  you  so  desire. '  * 

"  Is  he  here?' '  asked  Adrian  and  Lola  in  a  breath. 

"Verily,  he  is  now  in  consultation  with  Presi- 
dent Smoot,  Bishop  Lehman  and  Zina.  We  had 
been  consulting  over  matters  concerning  this 
stake,  to  thoroughly  familiarize  Brother  Smoot 
with  the  work,  but  according  to  agreement  I  kept 
my  appointment  with  you.  I  will  call  them  all 
in." 

So  saying,  he  left  the  room.  Presently  he 
returned,  accompanied  by  the  four.  They  had 
previously  planned  everything.  All,  except  Zina 
and  Lehman,  were  to  bear  heavily  upon  the  point 
of  the  young  couple  submitting  to  the  plurality. 
Anything  that  Zina  and  Lehman  should  say,  how- 
ever, was  to  be  unheeded. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  253 

The  prophet  entered  the  office  first,  and  ad- 
vanced to  the  young  couple,  taking  their  extended 
hands  in  each  of  his,  raised  his  holy  eyes  and 
said : — 

"Heaven  bless  thee,  my  young  brother  and 
sister.     Didst  thou  send  for  me?" 

"We  did,  holy  prophet,"  answered  they  in 
unison. 

"What  is  thy  pleasure?" 

"Kind  prophet, "  said  Lola,  "we  are  in  distress, 
and  you  were  so  kind  to  me  yesterday  that" — 

"Ah!  I  am  ever  thus  to  all  who  love  and  obey 
the  Lord's  will." 

All  his  words  were  deep  and  solemn.  His 
interruption  startled  her,  and  in  her  agitation  she 
forgot  what  she  was  going  to  say.  She  began 
again :  — 

"Well — well — O  what  was  I  going  to  say?" 

"Those  who  obey  the  divine  commands  need 
not  falter, ' '  said  the  prophet.  "  It  is  only  those 
possessed  of  the  devil  who  hesitate,  and" — 

"Do  not  say  she  is  possessed  of  the  devil.  I 
will  not  stand  it,  no  matter  whence  it  comes," 
said  Adrian,  much  excited. 

The  others  were  struck  with  terror,  that  anyone 
would  have  the  temerity  to  address  the  holy  man  in 
this  way.  They  caught  their  breath,  and  threw  up 
their  hands  in  horror.  The  prophet  was  struck 
dumb  for  a  moment,  but  presently  he  said : — 

"Young  villain,  what  dost  thou  mean?  Know- 
est  thou  to  whom  thou  hast  spoken?" 


254  THE    FALSE    START. 

*' Pardon  me,  holy  prophet;  for  the  moment  I 
lost  my  reason.  She  is  overcome  with  grief  and 
not  an  evil  spirit. ' ' 

"Grief?     What  is  the  cause,  I  pray?" 

"Divine  prophet,  permit  an  explanation.** 

* '  Proceed.  * ' 

"It  was  our  intention  to  come  at  this  time  to 
get  a  recommend  from  our  bishop  for  us  to  go 
through  the  endowment.  I  talked  to  Brother 
Blatherskite  on  this  subject  yesterday  while  you 
were  dancing  with  Lola.  He  said  that  I  should 
take  two  at  once,  making  her  my  fitst,  or  marry 
another  first  and  make  Lola  a  second.  He  has 
just  told  us  that  you  advised  it  upon  revelation." 

"It  is  so  revealed." 

"Will  you  consult  the  spirit  servants  of  the 
Most  High  again  upon  this  question  so  sacred 
to  us?" 

"I  cannot  so  trifle  with  High  Heaven.** 

This  came  like  a  blow  to  Lola,  and  she  would 
have  fallen  if  Adrian  had  not  caught  her  in  his 
arms.     At  the  same  time  she  cried  in  anguish : — 

"Is  there  ho  power  that  can  save  us  from  this 
terrible  fate?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Adrian,  "there  is  a  power; 
it  is  the  divinity  within  ourselves.  We  will  not 
comply. ' ' 

"Then  you  will  be  eternally  lost,"  answered 
the  prophet. 

"Shall  we  be  lost  for  doing  that  which  is  our 
individual  and  divine  right?" 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  255 

"It  is  neither  an  individual  nor  a  divine  right 
to  refuse  to  comply  with  the  divine  commands 
from  above. ' ' 

"I  care  not  whence  the  command  comes.  I  do 
not  believe  that  such  a  command  came  from 
Heaven ;  but  be  that  as  it  may,  I  will  never  wed 
any  other  than  the  one  I  love. ' ' 

"Young  man,  *be  not  deceived;  God  is  not 
mocked;,  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall 
he  also  reap. '  Thou  hast  sown  to  disobedience 
and  shalt  reap  its  just  reward.  I  will  now  pro- 
nounce the  greatest  curse  of  Heaven  upon  thee 
and  this  sorceress.     It  is  my  command" — 

"Hold!"  cried  Lehman,  stepping  to  his  side, 
partly  facing  the  young  couple,  as  he  continued : 
"In  the  name  of  Heaven  let  me  plead  extenuation 
for  this  young  couple.  I  know  them  to  be  true 
in  all  things,  except  the  blessed  plurality.  They 
are  good,  noble  and  upright,  and  perfect  in  every 
virtue  but  this.  Do  not  curse  them  now,  it  is 
their  first  transgression.  Grant  them  a  little  time 
to  reflect,  and  perhaps  they  will  yield. " 

"How  can  I  stay  the  hand  of  the  Most  High?" 

"On  bended  knees  and  with  tearful  eyes,  I, 
who  never  sinned,  ask  this  respite  for  these." 

"Hast  thou  any  assurance  in  thy  conscience 
that  their  actions  will  be  different?" 

"None,  most  holy  prophet,  but  truly  I  be- 
lieve." 

"Brother  Lehman,  by  your  request  I  will  stay 
the  hand  of  vengeance  until  we  c^n  be  directed. 


I 


256  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Let  a  meeting  of  the  holy  priesthood  of  this  stake 
be  called  in  prayer  circle  for  to-morrow  evening, 
at  the  priesthood  assembly-room,  and  there,  on 
bended  knees,  we  will  ask  to  be  directed.  Presi- 
dent Smoot,  see  that  this  order  is  complied  with. ' ' 

' '  I  will  obey, ' '  said  Brother  Smoot. 

This  said,  the  prophet  gave  command  for  all 
to  retire  with  him,  except  Adrian  and  Lola. 

They  were  left  alone,  when  Lola  said : — 

** Adrian,  what  shall  we  do?" 

"We  will  go  home,  love,  and  wait  for  further 
developments. ' ' 

They  went  out  of  the  office,  bowed  down  with 
grief,  and  immediately  drove  toward  their  homes. 

"Adrian,  I  am  not  satisfied  with  your  last 
answer.  I  knew  that  we  would  go  home,  but 
what  then  shall  be  our  course  of  action?" 

"Our  course  shall  be  right,  my  precious  angel. 
It  is  terrible  to  have  a  prayer  circle  to  deal  with, 
but  I  will  meet  it  and  defeat  it.  Lola,  we  must 
not  say  a  word  about  the  prayer  circle  to  our 
parents,  as  they  would  feel  that  our  lives  were  in 
great  peril.  Trust  to  me,  and  I  will  know  every- 
thing that  is  done  there.  Say  to  our  parents  that 
we  have  failed  thus  far,  but  perhaps  we  shall  be 
successful.  I  will  see  you  to-morrow  during  the 
day.  For  awhile  I  cannot  know  when  it  is  safe 
for  me  to  come  and  go  at  night.  The  plan  has 
dawned  upon  me,  darling,  have  no  fear. ' ' 

He  had  endeavored  to  allay  the  uneasiness  in 
her  mind  as  much  as  possible,  but  to  no  efEect ; 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  J^S^ 

she  was  quite  as  much  troubled  as  he.  It  was 
growing  dark  as  they  reached  Lola's  home,  when 
Adrian  said: — 

"My  dear  one,  little  did  we  dream,  as  we  sat 
on  the  trunk  of  that  old  tree,  in  front  of  Bridal- 
Veil  Falls,  on  that  sweet  day  in  June,  that  before 
one  short  year  had  fled,  our  star  of  hope  would 
shine  so  faintly  as  now.  Everything  looked 
bright  and  lovely  then,  but  now  it  is  indeed 
gloomy.  Let  us  keep  brave  hearts,  dear  Lola, 
and  remember  that  after  clouds  comes  the  sun^ 
shine.  We  will  pray  to  our  Heavenly  Father 
that  this  shadow  shall  be  lifted. "  Then  helping 
her  from  the  buggy,  he  kissed  her  a  sad  good 
night  and  they  parted. 

They  explained  to  their  parents  the  result  of 
the  meeting,  as  indicated  by  Adrian,  which 
brought  sad  hearts  to  the  inmates  of  these  homes. 


I 


IT 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Adrian  was  late  at  supper.  The  family  and 
the  hands  had  all  eaten  before  he  reached  home. 
Jed  sat  in  the  dining-room  and  watched  his  every 
movement.  There  was  a  shade  of  sadness  on 
Jed's  face.  He  had  just  returned  from  a  trip  in 
the  mountains,  and  had  been  informed  in  regard 
to  all  that  had  transpired  with  reference  to  Adrian 
and  Lola,  and  where  they  were  at  this  time,  and 
the  object  of  their  mission. 

':.  When  Adrian  said  to  Lola  that  he  would  meet 
and  defeat  the  action  of  the  prayer  circle,  and  know 
all  that  went  on  while  it  was  in  session  the  next 
evening,  he  had  Jed  in  mind.  He  knew  that  Jed 
was -to  return  that  evening  or  sometime  during' 
the  night.  He  was  pleased  when  Jed  met  him 
at  the  front  gate  and  took  his  horses  and  put  them 
away,  while  he  explained  all,  as  agreed  with 
Lola,  to  his  parents. 

Jed  came  in  from  the  barn  just  as  Adrian  sat 
down  at  table.  When  he  had  finished  his  meal, 
he  arose  from  the  table  and  beckoned  Jed  to  fol- 
low him  to  his  room.  After  seating  themselves 
comfortably,  he  began : — 

*'Jed,  are  you  the  man  that  I  judge  you  to  be, 
a  friend  in  need,  without  dross?" 

"To  all  who  are  right. " 

258 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  259 

*'Do  you  consider  me  right?" 

'*As  the  north  star  which  never  varies  in  its 
position. " 

"This  is  as  I  judged  you.  I  am  in  need  of  a 
friend  in  whose  hands  I  can  place  my  life,  if 
necessary,  and  know  that  it  is  safe.  Far  more 
than  this,  my  life  is  a  mere  bagatelle  compared 
with  the  charge  which  your  acceptance  may 
entail ;  for  it  may  necessitate  the  placing  in  your 
hands  the  preservation  of  Lola's  life  also.  O 
Jed,  on  your  shoulders  will  rest  much.  There 
are  but  four  men  that  I  know,  to  whom  I  would 
entrust  this  charge — my  father,  Mr.  Allison,  Ver- 
non Stanton,  and  yourself.  You  can  accomplish 
my  purpose  much  better  than  any  of  them.  Can 
you,  and  will  you,  accept  this  charge?" 

"Adrian,  dear  boy,  I  will  accept  this  charge^ 
knowing  full  well  the  dangers  and  difficulties 
that  may  beset  us  all." 

"Then  hear  what  I  have  to  say.  You  have 
heard  of  the  prayer  circle,  and  know  its  objects, 
do  you  not?" 

"Yes,  I  have  heard  of  it,  and  I  think  I  know 
its  object. " 

"There  will  be  one  of  these  meetings  to-mor- 
row evening  at  the  priesthood  assembly  hall,  for 
the  consideration  of  my  case  with  Lola.  We 
have  refused  to  enter  into  the  plurality.  It  has 
greatly  incensed  the  priesthood,  so  much  so,  that 
this  circle  has  been  called  for  to-morrow  evening,, 
and  I  must  know  what  is  done  at  that  circle. ' ' 


26o  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

For  a  few  moments  Jed  sat  in  deep  thought, 
finally  he  said:  **I  will  undertake  to  find  out 
for  you.  I  will  retire  now.  Wake  me  at  three 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning  and  have  everything 
ready  as  I  direct  you.  Get  my  canteen  and  have 
it  full  of  fresh  water  and  lunch  sufficient  for  three 
meals.  Have  my  lariats,  with  those  two  hooks 
which  hang  in  the  barn,  also  in  the  dining-room, 
and  I  will  learn  everything  that  transpires  at 
that  meeting  or  my  name  is  not  Jeddediah  Wor- 
then. ' ' 

"I  will  have  everything  as  you  say,"  said 
Adrian. 

"Good  night,"  said  Jed,  and  he  left  the  room. 

Promptly  at  three  o'clock  Adrian  knocked  at 
the  door  of  Jed's  bedchamber,  and  then  went 
downstairs  to  the  dining-room,  soon  followed  by 
Jed.  Adrian  had  everything  in  readiness,  just 
as  Jed  had  ordered. 

"Go  to  bed,  lad,  and  sleep  soundly.  Have  no 
fear,  but  trust  to  me,"  he  said,  as  he  threw  his 
canteen  strap  and  lariats  over  his  shoulder,  and 
taking  his  hooks  and  lunch  basket  in  his  hand, 
he  was  ready  for  business.  He  had  two  large 
revolvers,  with  a  belt  full  of  cartridges,  buckled 
around  him. 

"You  look  every  inch  a  soldier,"  said  Adrian, 
as  the  true-hearted  man  vanished  in  the  darkness. 

Things  were  very  quiet  about  the  Allison  and 
Waltham  places  during  the  whole  of  the  day  that 
Jed  was  gone.     The  brethren,  could  not  under- 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  26l 

Stand  why  there  was  not  a  little  commotion  about 
those  places  owing  to  conditions.  Adrian  spent 
a  few  hour^  in  Lola's  company  during  the  day, 
then  went  home  and  tried  to  rest  quietly^  in 
his  room,  but  it  was  a  day  of  great  suspense  to 
him.  He  retired  early  and  slept  a  short  time  in 
the  forepart  of  the  night,  but  after  one  o  clock, 
the  hour  he  expected  Jed  to  return,  he  could  not 
rest;  the  hours,  fraught  with  much  anxiety,  wore 
heavily  away. 

About  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  Jed  re- 
turned, and  having  a  night-key,  he  quietly  opened 
the  door  and  ascended  the  stair,  going  directly  to 
Adrian's  room,  rapped  gently  on  his  door. 
Adrian  said  ii#a  low  voice: — 

"Is  that  you,  Jed?" 

"Yes,  Adrian,  it  is  Jed."         • 

Adrian  instantly  opened  the  door,  and  grasping 
his  friend  by  the  hands,  said : — 

"O  Jed!  I  had  begun  to  fear  some  accident 
had  befallen  you,  and  that  you  were  not  going 
to  return  at  all." 

''I,  too,  began  to  think  that  I  would  have  to 

remain  up  a  tree  until  I  was  very  hungry.     I  had 

grown  short  on  grub  already.  * ' 

"  I  do  not  understand  what  you  mean  by  being 
*up  a  tree.*  " 

''Figuratively  speaking,  the  saintly  priests  had 

me  up  a  tree.     Their  being  beneath,  prevented 

me  from  descending.     I  am  a  prudent  man,  you 

know.     I  was  never  known  to  come  down  from  a 


262  THE    FALSE    STAR; 

tree  amid  a  pack  of  coyotes.  No,  no,  not  any  of 
that  kind  of  business  for  me." 

"But,  Jed,  did  you  learn  anything?"  said 
Adrian,  a  little  impatient. 

"Oh,  yes,  you  can  bet  your  corns  on  it." 

*'In  what  way,  and  what  is  it?  Tell  me  all 
about  it. " 

'*When  I  left,  I  went  straight  to  the  meeting 
house.  I  took  that  sixteen-foot  pole  with  me 
from  the  side  of  the  barn.  I  raised  a  window  by 
force,  climbed  inside  and  took  the  pole  with  me. 
Peculiar  proceedings  at  a  meeting  house,  hey? 
Ha!  ha!  ha!  as  the  cow-boy  would  say,  'I  should 
goad. '  This  little  trick  of  mine  is  equaled  only 
by  Brig  and  his  band  of  flunkies.  Yes,  I  took 
my  pole  with  me ;  by  the  way,  a  pole  is  a  pretty 
good  thing  to  have,  even  in  church,  especially  if 
you  have  the  right  kind  of  a  pole.  Well,  when  I 
got  my  pole  in,  I  put  the  window  down  carefully. 
Now,  Adrian,  mark  the  utility  of  a  pole.  Here 
I  raised  my  pole  and  proceeded  to  raise  the  trap 
door  to  the  fire  escape  in  the  ceiling.  Then 
attaching  my  ropes  to  the  hooks,  I  then  hung  the 
hooks  on  one  of  the  small  forks  at  the  end  of  my 
pole.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  fork  connected 
with  your  pole,  remember.  I  then  raised  my 
pole  carefully  a  second  time,  and  hung  the  hooks 
on  the  joists  on  each  side  of  the  opening.  It  was 
still  a  little  dark  to  work  well,  so  I  sat  down 
and  rested  awhile.  When  it  was  light  enough,  I 
took  a  chair  from  the  pulpit,  and  tied  it  to  the 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  263 

end  of  one  rope  and  the  basket  to  the  other. 
Then  with  canteen  and  other  equipments  I  began 
to  move  toward  the  roof  by  means  of  the  ropes, 
steadied  by  my  pole.  When  safely  aloft,  and  my 
pole  laid  carefully  in  the  attic,  I  next  elevated 
my  basket,  and  then  the  chair.  I  was  careful  to 
get  my  ropes  and  everything  out  of  sight.  Out 
of  sight — that's  a  good  proposition,  especially 
when  you  attend  a  prayer  circle  of  the  Saints,  and 
you  are  not  a  member  of  the  holy  priesthood. 
When  all  was  safely  between  the  roof  and  the 
ceiling,  I  struck  camp  to  await  the  performance. 
I  established  my  fortifications,  camp  and  all 
equipments  on  four  boards,,  each  a  foot  wide  and 
ten  feet  long.  It  was  a  novel  situation,  and  lone- 
some. Oh,  my!  enough  so  to  make  the  cold  chills 
creep  up  the  spine,  but  I  had  enlisted  for  the  war 
and  there  was  no  backing  out.  After  I  had 
replaced  the  trap  door  and  sat  down  in  silence,  a 
sense  of  mysterious  dread  daunted  my  spirit  for  a 
time.  The  startled  bats  flew  around  as  if  protest- 
ing against  my  invasion  of  their  solitary  domain. 
Their  screeching  noise,  as  the  chattering  of  teeth, 
seemed  to  mock  the  sound  of  some  dying  victim^ 
My  mind  involuntarily  turned  to  sweet  Evelyn,- 
whom  I  knew  to  have  been  a  victim  of  a  prayer 
circle,  held  in  this  house.  Once  in  the  groove  of 
reflecting  over  this  horrible  road,  I  could  not 
leave  it.  I  thought  of  the  Morrisites,  of  the  vic- 
tims of  Mountain  Meadow,  of  the  Aikin  boys,  of» 
Franklin  McNeil,  who  dared  to  have  a  suit  pend- 


264  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ing  against  the  prophet,  and  of  the  long  list  of 
victims  of  Apostle  Orson  Hyde,  Bill  Hickman, 
Porter  Rockwell,  Eph.  Hanks,  and  other  Destroy- 
ing Angels  who  do  the  bidding  of  the  holy  priest- 
hood. Oh,  Adrian,  in  such  a  dismal  place,  these 
thoughts  were  horrible  !  At  last  one  lonely  ray  of 
light  glanced  across  the  dismal  attic,  I  could  then 
faintly  discern  the  objects  around  me.  No  other 
sound  was  heard  except  the  faint  chirping  of  the 
birds  on  the  outside,  and  the  rattle  of  an  occa- 
sional wagon  passing  along  on  the  street.  All 
was  silent  as  the  grave  inside  except  an  occasional 
■mouse  that  darted  across  the  ceiling,  or  a  panting 
lizard  which  glided  along  the  wall  plates.  The 
hours  passed  slowly  by,  and  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  I  heard  the  front  door  unlock.  I 
had  taken  my  position  prone  on  the  boards,  allow- 
ing two  inches  of  opening  in  the  trap  door,  so 
that  I  could  view  the  most  of  the  circle  from 
where  I  lay.  At  half-past  eight  the  brethren 
were  ready  for  business.  As  Blatherskite  was 
your  bishop,  he  was  selected  leader.  He  arose 
and  said,  *Let  quiet  reign.*  Then  they  prayed — 
actually  prayed  Blatherskite  said,  as  this  was  a 
very  important  meeting  of  the  anointed,  it 
would  be  well  to  know  that  there  are  no  traitors 
or  any  that  are  weak  in  the  faith  present.  The 
roll  was  called,  and  all  responded  after  the  bishop 
as  follows:  'I  do  hereby  humbly  pledge  myself 
anew  to  the  cause  of  holiness  as  promulgated  by 
the  holy  priesthood.     I  solemnly  promise  to  be 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  265 

faithful  and  true  to  all  the  teachings  of  the  same. 
I  further  pledge  my  life  and  all  that  is  sacred  to 
me  to  the  preservation  of  the  secrets  intrusted 
unto  me,  especially  things  which  take  place  in  the 
sacred  prayer  circle,  as  shall  be  mapped  out  from 
time  to  time  for  our  guidance  by  divine  revela- 
tion. To  this  solemn  pledge  I  bind  myself  under 
the  stem  penalty  that  if  this  vow  be  broken,  a  fire 
shall  be  lighted  around  my  body  until  it  be 
entirely  consumed,  and  the  ashes  cast  to  the 
winds,  that  there  may  not  be  any  resurrection  of 
my  body.'  After  this  oath  was  administered, 
they  joined  hands,  formed  a  circle  and  offered  a 
prayer,  especially  for  you  and  Lola,  then  they  had 
a  long  discussion  as  to  what  should  be  done.  At 
first  all  but  Lehman  and  Smoot  were  in  favor  of 
sending  both  over  the  long  road  traveled  by  James 
and  Evelyn,  but  in  the  quiet  way  that  James  was 
sent,  as  some  put  it.  Then  the  question  was 
asked  how  James  was  disposed  of.  Upon  expla- 
nation I  learned  that  he  went  hunting  in  company 
with  John  Bildew,  Folger  Anderson  an^  Milton 
Fransen.  They  quit  hunting  about  dark,  shot  off 
their  guns,  as  proposed  by  the  three  men  men- 
tioned, when  they  seized  him,  bound  and  gagged 
him,  and  turned  him  over  to  Philander  Lintle 
and  David  Bronson,  who  took  him  across  the  lake 
in  a  row-boat,  and  turned  him  over  to  Porter 
Rockwell  and  Mellin  Jacobson,  who  took  him 
back  into  the  hills  from  Pelican  Point,  and  killed 
him — all  according  to  revelation." 


266  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

As  Jed  closed  this  statement  in  reference  to 
James,  Adrian  grew  pale  as  death,  great  drops  of 
sweat  stood  on  his  forehead,  as  he  said : — 

**Poor  James!  how  horrible!  I  have  always 
believed  that  he  was  murdered. ' '  He  paused  for 
a  few  moments,  then  continued:  ''Did  you  say 
that  Lehman  and  Smoot  opposed  disposing  of  us 
in  this  way?" 

"Smoot  opposed  the  blood  atonement  vigor- 
ously, Lehman  partially  opposed  it  in  this  case, 
especially  with  reference  to  Lola.  In  reference 
to  her  he  made  an  exceedingly  strong  pull 
against  it. ' ' 

'*He  was  the  only  reasonable  one  at  the  meet- 
ing with  our  bishop  day  before  j^esterday.  * ' 

*'He  protested  so  hard  that  they  determined  to 
do  nothing  with  Lola  for  the  time  being;  but 
with  you,  my  dear  boy,  it  is  quite  different.  We 
will  have  to  give  them  a  round-up  on  you." 

"What  did  they  determine  in  my  case,  Jed?" 

"They  decided  that  you  should  be  handled  by 
the  same  old  gang  that  disposed  of  James;  but 
they  would  take  a  different  plan  to  capture  you. ' ' 

"How  is  that?" 

"You  are  going  to  Pleasant  Grove  next  Satur- 
day evening  week,  are  you  not?" 

"Yes,  I  have  a  business  engagement  at  seven 
o* clock  in  the  evening  with  a  party  on  his  way 
to  Zion  from  Wasatch  county." 

"Are  you  coming  home  that  night?" 

"That  was  my  intention,  why?" 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  267 

**That  is  the  time  set  for  them  to  capture  you." 
*'Jed,  is  that  true?"  said  Adrian,  much  agitated. 
"I  will  not  go." 

"Talk  not  in  that  strain,  my  lad.  We  have 
enlisted  for  the  war.  They  cannot  take  us  in 
ambifsh,  for  we  know  how  and  in  what  way  the 
battle  will  be  fought.  Let  us  give  them  every 
opportunity.  Philander  Little  and  David  Bron- 
son  will  start  for  Tooele  County  this  evening  as  it 
grows  dark,  to  notify  Porter  Rockwell  and  Jacob- 
son  to  be  at  Pelican  Point  on  that  evening  to  take 
charge  and  dispose  of  you.  I  will  leave  here  at 
the  same  hour,  disguised  as  Rockwell;  they  will 
go  over  the  bench,  or  upp)er  road,  while  I  will 
take  the  bottom,  or  lake-front  road.  I  will  inter- 
cept them  between  Pleasant  Grove  and  American 
Fork,  and  there  get  the  instructions  intended  for 
Rockwell.  I  can  personate  Rockwell  to  perfec- 
tion. After  I  get  my  cue  I  will  then  turn  back 
as  if  going  home.  In  order  to  make  the  ruse 
more  effectual,  I  will  say  to  them  that  I  will  make 
this  affair  as  clean  cut  as  the  James  Blatherskite 
case,  and  at  the  same  point.  If  I  am  successful 
thus  far  then  you  will  go  to  Pleasant  Grove,  as 
agreed  upon,  on  horseback.  When  they  meet 
you,  patiently  submit.  Tell  them  not  to  gag  you, 
as  you  will  not  make  an  outcry.  Let  them  take 
you,  turn  you  over  to  the  boatmen,  Lintle  and 
Bronson.  A  friend  of  mine,  of  my  own  selection, 
and  I  will  receive  you  on  the  other  side  of  the 
lake ;  we  will  be  disguised  as  Rockwell  and  Jacob- 


•268  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

son.  As  soon  as  we  have  you  and  get  away  from 
the  point,  we  will  unhand  you  and  bring  you  back 
home  in  our  boat,  and  the  first  battle  is  won. 
When  they  see  you  on  the  streets  the  next  day 
they  will  be  paralyzed,  but  don't  betray  any  signs 
that  anj^thing  unusual  has  happened.  W^  will 
soon  have  the  brethren  strongly  impressed  with 
the  idea  that  there  is  a  supernatural  power 
guarding  and  protecting  you. ' ' 

"Where  did  you  get  that  idea,  Jed?  Do  you 
think  it  will  be  safe?" 

* '  I  carefully  studied  this  plan  while  in  the  attic, 
after  hearing  the  decision  of  the  circle.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  this  is  the  only  avenue  of  escape  for 
you." 

"Jed,  reposing  the  greatest  confidence  in  your 
judgment,  I  will  act  according  to  the  plan  you 
have  marked  out.  I  am  so  thankful,  however, 
that  Lola  is  not  to  be  dragged  around  and  humil- 
iated by  this  band.  She  shall  not  know  for  some- 
time at  least  that  I  make  this  trip.  I  will  simply 
say  to  her  that  I  think  that  everything  will  come 
out  right  after  all. " 

"Now  that  my  plan  is  understood  I  want  to  tell 
you  a  little  more  about  what  detained  me  in  the 
attic.  The  Saints  got  through  with  your  case 
about  twelve  o'clock;  then  one  of  the  brethren 
rolled  in  a  keg  of  '  merry- wine.  *  " 

"What  do  you  mean  by  'merry- wine'?" 

"Liquor,  lad,  liquor,  deep-red  whisky.  Oh-, 
my!     I  know  that  the  mint-julep  they  made  must 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  269 

have  been  delicious, "  Ashe  mentioned  the 
mint-julep,  his  mouth  flew  open  and  his  lips  pop- 
ped like  a  whip.  "I  was  as  dry  as  a  fish.  The 
water  in  my  canteen  had  given  out  before  the 
brethren  came,  and  this  reminds  me  that  I  am 
still  very  thirsty, ' ' 

"I  will  go  and  get  a  pitcher  of  ice- water, "  said 
Adrian,  as  he  arose  and  went  out  of  the  room  in 
his  stocking  feet ;  he  soon  returned  with  a  pitcher 
of  ice- water  and  a  glass,  Jed  drank  until  he  had 
quenched  his  thirst,  then  he  said: — 

"I  should  have  been  a  guest  of  honor  at  the 
meeting — a  distinguished  visitor,  being  the  only 
one  present  who  was  not  a  member;  but  never  a 
time  did  they  say,  Jeddediah,  old  boy,  have  a  wee 
bit  for  the  stomach's  sake,  ha!  ha!  ha!  Oh,  no, 
not  on  your  corns.  They  just  let  me  breathe 
with  a  dry  whistle  and  continue  to  grow  drier. 
As  the  aroma  from  the  julep  arose  to  where  I  lay 
I  feared  my  own  actions;  for  I  was  tempted  to 
unravel  the  end  of  one  of  my  ropes,  drop  the 
frazzle  into  the  bowl,  which  was  immediately 
under  me,  soak  it  in  the  invigorating  liquid, 
draw  it  up  and  suck  the  contents.  If  I  had  been 
so  indiscreet  I  think  there  would  have  been  a 
great  deal  of  excitement  among  the  brethren, 
and,  as  Willy  would  say,  there  might  have  been  a 
laying-on  of  hands  for  my  special  benefit ;  there- 
fore, I  lay  still  and  got  drier  and  drier  as  the 
hours  rolled  by,  while  the  brethren  drank  deeper 
^nd  deeper.     The  members  of  the  prayer  circle 


270  THE    FALSE    STA^. 

gulped  down  whole  goblets  of  ice-cold  julep, 
while  I  had  to  be  content  with  the  smell.  Finally 
they  became  hilarious,  when  one  of  the  brethren 
said  to  Brig,  'Sh-e-s,  hie,  fine  sac-r-r-rament, 
hain't  she,  p-pr-rophet?'  When  he  answered: 
'Fit  for  gods  only.'  It  was  the  first  time  I  ever 
understood  why  the  Saints  used  water  instead  of 
wine  for  sacramental  purposes — they  don't  con- 
sider the  masses  gods.  I  longed  for  a  nip  at  first, 
but  the  brethren  drank  so  long  and  so  much  that 
I  was  disgusted.  After  three  hours  of  this  saintly 
imbibing,  many  were  drunk  and  had  to  be  helped 
home.  During  the  drinking,  much  of  the  time 
was  spent  in  telling  obscene  stories  connected 
with  their  own  experiences,  which  created  great 
laughter  at  times.  When  I  saw  them  preparing 
to  take  their  leave,  I  hove  a  sigh  of  relief,  for  I 
feared  it  was  almost  day,  and  that  I  would  be 
compelled  to  stay  up  there  another  twelve  hours. 
I  had  lain  so  long  without  moving  that  when  I 
did  attempt  to  move,  like  Rip  Van  Winkle,  I 
could  scarcely  move  my  joints.  I  quietly  got  my 
watch  out  and  held  it  over  the  opening  to  catch 
the  light  to  be  sure  of  the  time.  Quietly  is  a 
good  word.  I  was  quiet  about  everything,  as  I 
didn't  care  to  disturb  the  meeting;  although  I 
had  enlisted  for  the  war,  I  did  not  want  to  kill  too 
many  of  the  brethren  on  the  immediate  opening 
of  hostilities,  especially  when  I  was  merely 
reconnoitering  the  field.  Yes,  as  I  said  before,  I 
quietly  look^  at  my  watch,  and  blast  my  sheep's 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  27  T 

head,  if  she  hadn't  stopped  at  a  quarter  past  two. 
I  was  being  so  highly  entertained  at  the  hour  I 
usually  wind  it  that  I  forgot  the  watch.  About 
this  time  the  brethren  began  to  leave,  when  I 
heard  one  say,  'Goodness,  it's  twenty  minutes  past 
three. '  Good,  said  I  to  myself,  I  will  talk  with 
Adrian  at  the  dawning  of  this  day.  When  all 
were  gone  and  everything  again  assumed  a  death- 
like silence,  I  broke  camp.  I  arranged  my  ropes, 
hooks,  basket,  chair,  and  lowered  them,  I  then 
raised  my  pole  and  dropped  one  end  quietly 
to  the  floor  of  the  cathedral.  Then,  with  my 
arsenal  and  my  canteen,  I  descended.  I  was 
careful  to  leave  everything  as  I  found  it,  even  to 
the  trap  door.  I  soon  struck  terra  firma,  retraced 
my  steps,  accompanied  by  my  pole,  and  here  I 
am  ready  for  an  invasion."  He  paused,  drank 
another  glass  of  water,  and  said,  "I  believe  I  will 
go  to  bed  and  rest  during  the  entire  day,  that  I 
may  resume  my  labors  this  evening." 

When  Adrian  was  left  alone,  he  sat  for  a  long 
time  in  deep  meditation,  calling  to  mind  all  that 
Jed  had  told  him  about  the  dark  crimes,  many  of 
which  he  had  never  heard  of  before — crimes  that 
were  the  outcroppings  of  the  teachings  of  the 
Saints ;  and  now  he  was  under  the  ban  of  condem- 
nation at  their  hands,  and  for  what  offense?  Not 
because  of  any  crime  he  had  committed  against 
any  law  of  the  government,  but  because  he  had 
absolutely  refused  to  violate  the  laws  of  the  land, 
a§  well  a^  the  divine  law,  as  he  understood  it. 


2  72  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

As  these  thoughts  passed  through  his  mind  he 
asked  himself  this  question : — 

''Can  it  be  possible  that  a  religion,  which  leads 
its  adherents  to  commit  every  class  of  crime  in 
its  name,  be  the  religion  of  Christ?" 

This  question  he  could  not  answer  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  Saints,  and  it  had  never  been 
his  good  fortune  to  hear  the  teachings  of  the 
Saviour  as  promulgated  by  other  denominations, 
except  on  one  or  two  occasions  when  he  had  heard 
Vernon  Stanton  express  his  views  on  the  subject. 
Scarcely  had  he  heard  sufficient  to  know  the 
belief  of  the  people  of  any  other  church ;  but  he 
could  not  harmonize  the  teachings  and  practices 
of  his  own  with  the  teachings  of  the  Son  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XXVIlt 

The  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  western  hori- 
zon, the  mountains  were  casting  their  shadows 
across  the  placid  surface  of  the  beautiful  lake  as 
Jed  awoke.  He  had  gone  straight  to  the  dining- 
room  when  he  left  Adrian  in  the  morning;  and 
after  eating  a  lunch,  which  had  been  prepared 
the  evening  before,  and  left  on  the  table  for  him 
when  he  should  return,  he  went  to  his  room  where 
he  remained  during  the  day.  Adrian  tried  to 
allay  the  anxieties  and  fears  of  the  members  of 
the  two  families,  by  assuring  them  that  all  would 
yet  be  well  with  him  and  Lola.  He  told  them 
nothing  of  what  was  going  on,  but  advised  strict 
silence  in  order  that  the  priesthood  should  not 
know  that  they  felt  any  unusual  uneasiness  over 
the  meddling  of  these  great  divines.  Jed  had  a 
suit  of  clothing  just  like  one  he  had  seen  Rock- 
well wear.  He  ate  his  supper,  dressed  himself 
in  this  '* ranch-suit,"  as  he  called  it,  with  a  large 
slouch  hat  and  false  beard ;  then  buckled  his  belt, 
filled  with  cartridges  and  two  revolvers,  round 
his  waist  over  his  coat.  A  large  hunting  knife 
was  also  fastened  in  the  belt.  He  was  the  persona- 
tion of  the  Danite;  the  best  acquaintance  of 
Rockwell  would  have  hailed  him  as  the  Danite 
himself. 


2  74  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

As  darkness  overspread  the  valley,  two  villains 
— yes,  two  as  black-hearted  fiends  as  ever  dis- 
graced the  human  family,  in  the  persons  of  Phil- 
ander Lintle  and  David  Bronson — were  seen 
leave  their  homes  in  the  Garden  City.  They 
were  mounted  on  strong,  swift  horses,  one  of 
which  was  black  and  the  other  gray.  Jed  had  a 
better  steed  than  either  of  these,  a  dark  bay.  He 
mounted  and  rode  to  the  junction  of  the  streets 
where  the  two  priests  were  to  meet.  He  kept 
well  in  the  dark  shade  of  the  locust  trees,  near 
the  sidewalk.  He  saw  them  meet  and  pass  on. 
Jed  scanned  them  closely.  With  his  keen  eye  he 
noted  carefully  everything  connected  with  them, 
in  order  to  make  no  mistake  when  he  met  them 
later.  As  they  passed  beyond  the  true-hearted 
fellow  he  said  to  himself,  "Ah!  my  devoted, 
murderous  Saints,  I  will  meet  you  'in  the  sweet 
bye  and  bye.'  "  With  that  he  started  on  the 
lake-front  road. 

An  hour  later  he  met  the  two  brethren  at  the 
point  he  had  indicated  to  Adrian.  They  would 
have  passed  him  if  he  had  not  halted  them.  He 
had  surmised  that  perhaps  they  might  not  recog- 
nize him  as  Rockwell  in  the  dark,  therefore  he 
studied  them  well  at  the  street  crossing  where 
they  met  in  the  Garden  City. 

As  they  neared  him,  he  eyed  them  very  closely, 
as  was  Rockwell's  accustomed  way.  As  they 
turned  to  pass  him,  holding  the  middle  of  the 
road,  Jed  said  in  a  stentorian  voice ;— 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  275 

**Hold!  If  I  mistake  not,  my  orbits  indicate  to 
me  that  thou  art  my  brethren. '  * 

"Is  it  Brother  Rockwell?"  queried  they. 

** Verily,  it  is  what  is  left  of  him,  by  h — 1  it  is. " 

"Thou  art  just  the  brother  we  are  seeking,  and 
meeting  thee  will  save  a  long  trip,"  said  Brother 
Lintle. 

"I  am  truly  glad,  brethren.  I'm  always  glad 
to  save  my  brethren  time  and  trouble.  I  do  not 
know  why,  but  I  felt  all  day  yesterday  like  I  was 
wanted  at  the  Garden  City,  so  I  buckled  up  yes- 
terday evening  and  came  as  far  as  Fairfield,  and 
renewed  my  journey  this  afternoon.  Verily,  I 
believe  it  was  a  revelation  I  had.  But  what  is 
wanted?" 

"Thou  wilt  go  to  the  Garden  City  with  us,  and 
we  will  tell  thee  as  we  go.  * ' 

*  *  No,  I  will  turn  back  and  go  as  far  as  Fairfield 
and  hang  up  there  until  to-morrow  evening. 
Meeting  thee  will  save  me  twenty-two  miles, 
which  is  not  to  be  sneezed  at.  If  you  will  let  me 
know  what  is  wanted,  I  will  act  as  my  judgment 
directs.  If  my  immediate  presence  is  required  in 
the  Garden  City,  I  will  go  as  thou  wilt  return, 
otherwise  I  will  hie  myself  to  the  valley  of 
Tooele." 

"In  that  case  we  will  reveal  the  object  of  our 
mission.  Thou  rememberest  the  deliverance  to 
thee  at  Pelican  Point  of  young  Blatherskite?" 

"Ah!  well  do  I  recall  the  event,  and  we  did 

his  wQrk  w^U.    After  taking  him  up  before  m^ 


276  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

on  my  horse,  although  bound  hands,  arms,  feet 
and  legs,  he  would  rear  back,  striking  his  head 
against  my  breast,  until  he  almost  knocked  me 
from  my  horse.  I  had  to  beat  him  over  the  head 
with  my  gun  to  quell  him.  Brother  Jacobson 
shot  him  through  the  bowels,  so  that  he  would 
die  hard  on  account  of  his  stubbornness.  Then 
we  rolled  him  into  a  ravine,  while  he  was  still 
alive,  and  covered  him  with  brush  and  leaves. 
We  removed  his  gag  right  after  shooting  him, 
just  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say.  The  way  he 
groaned  and  kicked  around  was  better  than  a 
circus  down  in  old  Missouri  or  Illinois.  Speak- 
ing of  old  Missouri,  if  I  had  got  the  same  shot  in 
on  old  Governor  Boggs,  the  time  the  Prophet 
Joseph  sent  me  over  there  to  see  that  he  died 
with  his  boots  on,  he  would  have  passed  in  his 
checks,  and  Joseph's  prophecy  would  have  come 
true." 

Jed  had  caught,  in  detail,  just  how  old  Porter 
talked  about  the  killing  of  James,  while  in  the 
attic  of  the  church,  and  he  had  learned  the  Gov- 
ernor Bog-gs  affair  long  before  this.  Jed's  famil- 
iarity with  these  two  circumstances,  which  was 
supposed  to  be  a  secret  between  the  Danites  and 
the  priesthood,  completed  the  disguise.  Bronson 
said : — 

**  Brother  Porter,  thou  art  a  jewel,  one  as  rare 
as  Kohinoor,  in  the  British  Crown.  It  was  my  good 
fortune  to  see  that  famous  Crown  while  I  was  on 
a  mission,  and  the  precious  stone  which  adorns  it 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  277 

is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  luster  of  thy  heart. 
Your  noble  virtues  are  only  equaled  by  Brother 
William  Hickman,  Bishop  John  D.  Lee  and  Apos- 
tle Orson  Hyde.  Thou  hast  proven  thyself  most 
worthy  of  Heaven's  blessings  by  doing  all  things 
commended  thee  by  the  holy  prophets  of  God. 
Up  to  this  hour  perfection  has  marked  thy  every 
act.  Let  the  future  show  that  thou  art  ever 
worthy  of  these  words.  As  one  of  the  highest 
counselors  of  the  priesthood  of  the  chosen  church 
I  here  ask  a  blessing  upon  thee  and  thine. " 

The  speaker's  horse  had  been  reined  along  the 
side  of  Jed's,  while  he  spoke  in  solemn  tones.  At 
the  last  sentence  he  raised  his  hands  imploringly, 
turning  the  palm's  down  as  he  spoke,  and  laid 
them  on  Jed's  head,  as  he  inclined  forward  on 
his  horse.  He  knew  that  Bronson  was  a  high 
counselor  in  the  affairs  of  the  church,  but  had 
not  dreamed  that  they  asked  a  blessing  with  the 
laying-on  of  hands  upon  the  executioners  of  their 
fiendish  crimes.  "Oh!"  thought  Jed,  "this  is 
horrible, ' '  as  the  priest  laid  his  holy  hands  upon 
the  crown  of  his  hat.  After  the  blessing  was 
pronounced,  the  priest  continued : — 

"We  have  another  bit  of  work  for  thee,  my 
brother.  It  is  to  be  executed  at  the  same  place, 
and  in  the  same  way  as  was  the  winding  up  of 
the  unholy  James  Blatherskite.  One  week  from 
next  Saturday  night  Brother  Lintle  and  I  will 
deliver  to  thee,  at  Pelican  Point,  young  Adrian 
Waltham,  whom  thou  will  dispose  of  according 


278  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  the  plans  revealed.  Wilt  thou  be  there  and 
ready,  accompanied  by  Brother  Jacobson?" 

''Depend  upon  it — we  will  be  there,  and  young 
Adrian  will  atone  for  his  disobedience. ' ' 

"Thou  hast  spoken  well,  Brother  Porter.  See 
that  thy  every  word  is  fulfilled,  that  the  cause  of 
the  blessed  plurality  may  shine  with  more  radiant 
splendor,  and  thereby  the  hope  of  immortality 
grow  brighter  and  brighter." 

"Amen,"  said  Brother  Lintle,  and  they  parted 
after  exchanging  a  final  good-night. 

Jed  reached  home  about  twelve  o'clock.  He 
went  straight  to  Adrian's  room. 

"Hello,"  said  Adrian;  "back  so  soon?" 

"Aye,  does  it  not  have  that  appearance?" 
answered  Jed. 

"I  am  persuaded  that  it  does,"  answered  the 
young  man.     "What  success?" 

"Perfect,  perfect.  All  is  now  arranged  for 
you  to  take  an  unusual  cruise  across  the  lake. 
See  that  you  perform  your  part  in  the  drama  well 
enough  to  make  things  comfortable  for  the  voy- 
age, then  all  will  be  lovely. ' ' 

He  told  Adrian  everything  connected  with  the 
meeting  of  the  priests,  and  how  terrible  he  felt 
when  the  high  counselor  asked  a  blessing  upon 
him.     He  said: — 

"I  could  not  play  the  part  of  a  spy  if  it  were 
not  to  avert  crime.  The  teachings  of  Christ,  as 
exemplified  by  all  the  churches  in  the  East,  where 
my  boyhood  days  were  spent,  are  that  we  should 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  279 

be  honest  in  all  things — embodying  truth  and 
honor  in  every  thought — that  deception  should 
have  no  abiding-place  in  our  being,  and  total 
abstinence  from  crime.  O  my  dear  boy,  there 
is  not  a  church  organization  within  the  confines 
of  this  mighty  nation  which  teaches  the  practice 
of  crime,  except  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter  Day  Saints.  The  name  of  the  church 
itself  is  blasphemous." 

Then  bidding  the  unhappy  youth  good  night, 
he  left  him  to  his  own  reflections.  The  last 
words  of  Jed  sank  deep  into  the  soul  of  Adrian. 
He  sat  for  hours  in  deep  study.  At  times  the 
tears  would  course  down  his  cheeks  then  pressing 
his  hand  to  his  forehead  and  eyes  as  if  trying  to 
shut  out  some  horrible  vision,  he  murmured  to 
himself: — 

"O  Lola!  why  was  it  our  unhappy  lot  to  be 
cast  among  those  so  different  from  our  natures? 
We  shun  crime  as  do  our  parents ;  yet  the  church 
to  which  we  hold  our  allegiance  practices  crime 
and  teaches  it  as  the.  revealed  word  of  God. 
Alas,  that  such  is  the  case. ' ' 

As  he  lamented  over  their  unfortunate  con- 
dition, he  felt,  for  the  time,  that  all  the  crimes* 
committed  were  traceable  to  the  church  to  which 
he  belonged.  He  sat  by  the  window  and  looked 
out  into  the  beautiful  moonlight.  The  song  of 
the  night  bird,  the  croaking  of  the  frog,  the 
chirruping  of  the  cricket,  and  the  roaring  of  Old 
Timpanogos  only  added  to  his  agony.     It  was 


28o  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

nearing  the  hour  of  four  o'clock  when  he  arose 
from  his  chair,  extinguished  the  low-burning 
light,  threw  himself  across  the  bed  and  slept  his 
first  sound  sleep  in  forty-eight  hours 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Thus  the  time  wore  heavily  away.  The  flush 
of  health  was  leaving  the  cheeks  of  the  two 
young  people,  and  sadness  was  depicted  in  each 
face.  The  fear  and  anxiety  felt  by  the  par- 
ents also  began  to  show  its  tell-tale  traces. 
Willy  each  day  became  more  violent  in  his  temper 
and  more  sarcastic  in  his  speech  about  the  priest- 
hood.    He  said  at  one  time: — 

*'What  a  blessing  it  would  be  if  Uncle  Sam 
would  lay  hands  on  these  old  warts  and  put  a 
stop  to  these  crimes,  which  bring  so  many 
tears  and  heartaches.  I  haven't  seen  a  smile 
at  home  nor  over  at  Adrian's  for  a  week,  but 
instead,  I  have  seen  sad  faces  and  tearful  eyes, 
and  I've  heard  the  deep-drawn  sighs  which 
tell  me  of  great  suffering,  all  because  we  want 
to  live  right.  I'll  bet  when  I  get  to  be  a  man, 
those  old  sardines  had  better  let  me  alone  or 
there'll  be  a  laying-on  of  lead  instead  of  a  lay- 
ing-on  of  hands." 

No  one  paid  much  attention  to  Willy's  remarks, 
and  he,  too,  soon  became  silent  and  sad  as  those 
around  him.  All  knew  that  Adrian  and  Jed  were 
closely  watching  every  movement  of  the  priest- 
hood. None  of  them  spoke  to  Jed  upon  the  sub- 
ject, however,  except  Adrian.      They  could  all 

88l 


282  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

see  determination  written  in  every  feature,  which 
knew  no  failure. 

"We  knew  all  that  is  going  on.  If  there  is 
danger  at  any  time,  we  will  notify  you.  Jed  is 
worth  his  weight  in  gold.  I  feel  as  safe  under 
his  generalship  as  if  I  had  the  prophet  on  my  side. 
We  will  be  together  much  until  the  clouds  shall 
have  passed  away.  When  we  are  away,  do  not 
look  for  us  until  you  see  us.  It  is  a  game  of 
chess ;  when  they  move,  we  check-mate  their  play. 
In  a  short  time  the  game  will  be  ours  if  we  keep 
them  in  the  dark ;  always  bear  this  in  mind  and 
keep  the  strictest  silence  for  our  sake,"  said 
Adrian  to  Lola  and  their  parents,  as  they  closed 
a  consultation  the  evening  before  Adrian  was  to 
take  the  weird  trip  across  the  lake.  He  had 
spent  much  of  the  time  in  Lola's  company  since 
the  memorable  meeting  at  the  bishop's. 

Adrian  had  business  matters  which  needed  his 
attention ;  but  could  not  give  his  mind  to  it  until 
the  dangerous  reefs  which  now  appeared  were 
safely  passed. 

The  day  came  when  he  must  make  the  trip  to 
Pleasant  Grove,  according  to  agreement.  He 
prepared  for  the  trip,  saddled  his  horse  and  rode 
away.  After  reaching  Pleasant  Grove,  and  the 
business  having  been  attended  to,  he  started 
home  about  half -past  eight  o'clock.  During  the 
first  eight  miles  not  a  person  came  in  sight.  He 
began  to  feel  a  little  like  he  was  going  to  escape 
the   trip,   and   for   a  moment,  hoped   that   such 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  283 

would  be  the  case ;  but  then  thought  of  Jed  and 
his  partner,  who  were  now  pulling  well  to  the 
western  shores  of  the  lake,  to  meet  him  and  save 
him  from  danger.  He  then  half  regretted  that 
the  priests  had  not  shown  themselves  ere  this. 
*'If  they  don't  attempt  to  capture  me  to-night, 
they  will  some  other  time,  and  perhaps  at  a  time 
when  we  are  least  prepared  for  them.  I  have 
confidence  in  Jed's  plan  and  I  think  it  will  have 
the  desired  effect,"  he  said  to  himself,  as  he  rode 
down  the  hill  from  the  bench  into  the  Timpa- 
nogos  bottom.  It  was  now  but  two  miles  to  the 
Garden  City.  These  thoughts  had  just  flashed 
through  his  mind,  when  his  horse  shied,  as  a  man 
stepped  in  front  of  him  and  seized  the  rein.  At 
the  same  moment  u  man  came  from  each  side, 
and  with  their  revolvers  leveled  at  him,  ordered 
him  to  throw  up  his  hands.  Adrian  complied 
without  a  word.  They  took  him  from  his  horse, 
tied  his  feet  and  hands,  and  bound  them  securely. 
Not  a  word  had  been  spoken,  nor  a  sound  uttered 
by  any  one,  except  the  command.  Adrian  had 
not  made  a  struggle.  John  Bildew  started  to 
gag  him,  when  Adrian  said: — 

"O  Brother  Bildew,  don't  do  that!  I  will 
not  make  an  outcry.  Do  with  me  as  you  like, 
but  let  me  breathe  easy  while  I  live." 

**Dost  thou  know  us?"  asked  Bildew  in  aston- 
ishment. 

"Perfectly  well,"  answered  Adrian.  **I  have 
no  feeling  against  either  of  you,  as  I  know  that 


284  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

you  are  simply  following  instructions,  I  have 
ever  deemed  you  honest  and  merciful  men ;  but 
if  you  gag  me,  I  will  die,  believing  you  to  be  the 
most  heartless  wretches  who  ever  existed." 

"What  do  we  care  for  what  you  think?"  said 
Folger  Anderson.  "Put  the  gag  in  his  mouth; 
Brother  Bildew. " 

' '  I  will  not ;  for  if  he  promises  to  keep  still,  I 
know  he  will  do  it, ' '  said  Bildew. 

"Give  it  to  me,  and,  by  damn,  I'll  do  it." 

"No,  I  will  not  allow  it  to  be  done;  there  is  no 
need  of  it. ' ' 

"It's  all  right  to  leave  it  off,"  said  Fransen. 

"Very  well,  brethren,  have  your  own  way;  but 
remember,  if  anything  goes  wrong,  I  am  not  to 
blame. "  - 

After  this  hurried  conversation,  they  loaded 
Adrian  into  a  hack  and  started  for  the  mouth 
of  the  Timpanogos,  where  they  met  Lintle  and 
Bronson  in  waiting.  They  carried  Adrian  into 
the  skiff  and  started  to  lay  him  down  in  the 
bottom,  when  he  said: — 

"Kindly  let  me  sit  on  the  vacant  seat  at  the 
front  end.  Brother  Bronson." 

"What  do  I  hear?  Is  he  not  gagged?"  queried 
Bronson,  greatly  surprised. 

"No,  he  is  well  bound,  and  on  his  solemn 
promise  to  make  no  outcry,  we  left  that  part 
off,"  answered  Bildew. 

"All  right,  if  you  can  stand  it  on  shore,  we  can 
certainly  do  so  on  the  water.     Waste  no  time  as 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  2%$ 

Brothers  Rockwell  and  Jacobson  will  be  tired  of 
waiting.     Shove  the  skiff  off,   Brother  Lintle. ' ' 

Lin  tie  obeyed,  and  they  were  off.  Adrian  was 
sitting  at  the  prow,  Bronson  at  the  oars,  while 
Lintle  worked  the  rudder. 

They  were  about  four  miles  from  the  point 
of  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  Timpanogos  whence 
they  started.  The  only  sound  heard  on  that 
portentous  voyage  was  an  occasional  screech  of 
the  night-hawk  far  in  toward  the  shore  they  had 
recently  left,  the  squawk  of  a  pelican,  the  splash 
of  the  oars,  and  the  dull  knock  as  they  worked 
in  the  locks.  The  moon  had  not  arisen,  although 
there  were  streaks  of  pale  light  shooting  up  from 
the  eastern  hills  which  grew  brighter  and  brighter 
as  they  neared  the  other  shore. 

High  Counselor  Bronson  broke  the  silence  by 
asking  Adrian  this  question : — 

'  *  How  is  it  with  thee,  my  dear  young  brother, 
by  this  time?  Thinkest  thou  still  that  thy  course 
is  right?" 

*'I  have  no  doubts  about  it,  I  know  that  I  am 
right, ' '  answered  Adrian. 

'*  Perhaps  it  has  not  dawned  upon  thy  dull 
intellect  as  yet,  where  thou  art  going. ' ' 

*'That  concerns  me  but  little  compared  with 
some  other  matters.  * ' 

*' Perhaps  thou  dost  not  know  that  thou  art 
going  to  thy  funeral?" 

'*My  funeral!  Pray,  when  is  that  to  take 
place?" 


286  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Now  is  the  time.  Verily,  this  is  the  proces- 
sion—rather a  novel  procession,  is  it  not?  If 
we  had  a  band  to  play  a  solemn  march  and  a 
choir  to  sing  a  mournful  dirge,  perhaps  thy  heart 
of  stone  could  be  touched  and  thou  wouldst  have 
much  concern. ' ' 

"Mistake  me  not,  Brother  Bronson.  I  am 
deeply  concerned  about  many  things.  I  have 
ever  been  a  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Saints, 
with  the  exception  of  the  blood  atonement  and 
the  plurality  of  wives,  with  all  my  might.  I  still 
believe,  for  I  know  no  other  religion.  That  which 
concerns  me  most  just  now  is,  Has  my  faith  been 
founded  right?  Can  this  be  the  gospel  of  Christ? 
He  taught  the  heaven-sent  doctrine,  'Thou 
shalt  not  kill.'  Our  church  leaders  believe  in 
and  practice  the  blood  atonement  with  impunity. 
He  who  disobeys  the  commands  of  the  priesthood 
or  goes  contrary  to  their  whims,  is  sure  of  death 
or  financial  ruin.  I  love  a  beautiful  girl ;  she  has 
given  her  heart's  love  wholly  to  me.  It  is  a  love 
born  of  heaven,  capable  of  being  seated  in  the 
breast  of  the  most  refined  only.  True  refinement 
in  woman  is  the  concentration  of  her  love  upon 
one  man.  She  is  wholly  dross  who  distributes 
her  love.  The  next  question  is.  Shall  I  raise  a 
different  standard  of  refinement  for  man,  and 
say  that  he  only  is  refined  who  distributes  his 
love  to  many?  That  he,  by  reason  of  his  superior 
strength,  shall  arrogate  to  himself  a  standard 
which  says  that  he  is  purest  who  has  a  multiple 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  287 

of  lovers  as  so-called  wives?  I  cannot  do  so.»  I 
denounce  such  teaching  as  bom  of  hell  instead 
of  Heaven.  To  intimate  that  I  should  offer  to 
Lola  a  divided  love  for  her  whole  heart,  is  a  propo- 
sition base  to  my  mind. '  * 

"Tut!  tut!  young  man!  Did  not  the  old  Pa- 
triarchs practice  the  plurality  and  distribute  their 
love  to  many?" 

*'I  grant  they  did ;  but  do  you  tell  me  that  man 
shall  go  back  to  the  primeval  days  of  religion 
for  an  example;  to  the  days  when  barbarism 
ruled  the  world  for  a  standard  of  refinement  and 
morals?" 

**It  is  not  a  question  of  refinement  and  morals, 
but  a  question  of  salvation." 

**  Christ,  the  exemplar,  made  no  such  a  condition 
precedent  to  salvation.  He  said :  *I  am  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father,  but  by  me.'  Again  He  said:  *I  am  the 
resurrection,  and  the  life:  He  that  believe th  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live :  And 
whosoever  liveth  and  belie veth  in  me  shall  never 
die. '  I  believe  in  Him.  I  trust  in  Him  with  all 
my  mind  and  soul,  and  praise  the  living  God  in 
His  name.     What  more  is  required?" 

*'That  may  save,  but  the  plurality  with  its  off- 
spring is  the  only  way  to  exaltation  in  the  future 
life." 

"The  Apostle  Paul's  life  was  a  failure,  if  this 
be  true;  and  the  only  people  of  to-day  that  will  be 
exalted  are  the  Turks  and  the  Latter  Day  Saints. " ' 


288  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

^Young  brother,  sarcasm  must  not  be  cast 
toward  your  superiors. ' ' 

**A11  things  are  fair  in  war.  I  am  under  the 
ban  of  condemnation  at  the  hands  of  the  priest- 
hood. You,  as  high  counselors  of  the  same, 
nave  just  informed  me  that  I,  though  in  perfect 
health,  am  now  in  my  funeral  procession.  If 
this  be  true,  what  has  placed  me  in  this  lament- 
able condition  ?  Simply  because  I  refuse  to  enter 
into  the  loathsome  practice  of  the  plurality." 

He  said  this  with  so  much  earnestness  and  feel- 
ing, the  two  brethren  could  not  answer.  When 
he  recovered  from  his  emotion,  they  were  near- 
ing  the  western  shore.  They  rode  up  to  the 
point,  and  the  two  brethren  in  the  boat  took 
Adrian  on  the  beach  and  lay  him  down  before 
the  two  who  met  them.  As  they  laid  him  down, 
Bronson  said :  — 

**See  to  it.  Brother  Rockwell,  that  this  young 
transgressor's  dying  agonies  are  intense;  for 
verily  I  say  unto  thee  that  he  is  the  personifica- 
tion of  Satan,  as  he  plainly  demonstrated  during 
his  transit  across  the  lake. " 

**Have  no  fears  about  his  agony,  we  will  tor- 
ture him  until  he  will  be  glad  to  recant.  * ' 

''Gracious  God!  what  can  it  mean?  That  can- 
not be  the  voice  of  Jed, ' '  thought  Adrian,  as  the 
two  strong  men  raised  him  to  their  shoulders. 
The  thought  at  once  struck  him  that  Jed  had 
.betrayed  him,  and  that  he  had  been  a  spy  in 
their  family  all  these  years,  a  tool  for  the  church, 


THE    lALbK    STAR.  289 

and  that  now,  the  crowning  infamy  of  his  deceit- 
ful play  had  culminated  in  his  destruction. 
There  was  not  the  slightest  indication  in  the 
man's  voice  that  it  was  Jed.  Adrian  had  come 
with  supreme  confidence,  but  alas!  now  it  was  too 
late ;  every  vestige  of  hope  had  flown.  A  thou- 
sand thoughts  flashed  through  his  brain  in  rapid 
succession.  He  thought  of  everything  that  had 
passed  between  himself  and  Lola,  of  the  happy 
hours  and  days  they  had  spent  together,  of  the 
pleasant  drives,  fishing  excursions,  strolls  by 
moonlight,  as  they  conversed  about  the  goodness 
of  God,  of  Christ  and  the  chosen  band,  of  apostles 
who  surrounded  him  while  in  the  world.  Now 
these  days  of  happiness  were  over.  "How  lonely 
will  be  the  time  for  my  darling  Lola  when  I  am 
gone,"  he  thought;  then  the  idea  seized  him  that 
perhaps  she  too  had  been  betrayed  by  Jed,  and 
that  she  might  die  a  martyr  to  her  integrity  and 
honor  that  very  night.  He  prayed  that  such 
might  be  the  case,  and  that  they  might  soon  be 
united  in  the  future  stage  of  existence.  *'But, 
no,"  he  thought,  *'she  will  have  to  live  to  be 
sealed  to  me,  while  living,  for  eternity  or  we  are 
lost  to  each  other  forever;"  then  he  remembered 
that  she  would  have  to  be  sealed  to  him  by  those 
who  were  persecuting  them  and  that  they  would 
never  do  this,  unless  she  consent  to  be  the  plural 
of  some  fiend,  while  living.  The  thought 
almost  turned  his  brain,  and  he  cried  in  the 
depths  of  despair  ''O  heavenly  powers,  forbid! 
forbid!" 

19 


290  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

As  he  uttered  these  words,  Jed  and  his  partner 
had  reached  a  place  of  safety  with  him.  They 
lowered  him  to  the  ground,  as  Jed  said : — 

"My  dear  boy,  is  there  anything  that  hurts 
you?" 

"O  Jed!"  he  cried,  "thank  heaven  you  have 
not  betrayed  me.  Your  disguise  was  so  complete 
that  I  was  sure  I  was  in  the  hands  of  Rockwell. 
Your  answer  in  compliance  with  their  fiendish 
commands  caused  my  blood  to  run  cold  and  filled 
my  soul  with  terror. ' ' 

"Have  no  fear,  Adrian,  for  it  is  Jed;  I  have 
enlisted  for  the  war,"  said  Jed,  as  he  cut  the 
fetters  which  bound  his  hands  and  feet. 

"Thank  God!  I  am  free  again,"  said  Adrian, 
as  he  arose  to  his  feet. 

They  walked  slowly  down  the  shore  to  where 
Jed  had  his  boat.  Adrian  was  supported  by  the 
men  for  some  distance,  as  his  limbs  were  numb 
from  being  bound  so  long.  They  reached  the 
boat  which  was  almost  a  mile  from  Pelican  Point, 
a  half  hour  later  and  embarked  for  home. 

The  moon  had  risen  and  the  night  was  perfect, 
the  sky  was  clear,  the  soft  wind  blew  as  if  bear- 
ing the  good-will  of  Tyche.  It  seemed  that 
Selene,  Poseidon  and  Aeolus  were  striving  to 
turn  the  horrors  of  the  night  into  pleasantness. 

Adrian  rehearsed  his  experience  with  the 
elders,  from  the  time  of  his  capture  until  he  was 
sure  that  he  was  in  the  hands  of  his  trusted 
friend,  Jed. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  29I 

They  reached  home  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  found  Adrian's  horse  at  the  gate  of 
the  corral.  They  took  the  patient  animal,  unsad- 
dled him  and  put  him  away  for  the  remainder  of 
the  night;  then  they  retired,  while  Jed's  friend 
hurried  from  the  Garden  City,  that  he  might  not 
be  seen.  He  camped  for  a  few  hours  about  noon 
in  the  canon,  and  reached  his  home  at  Park 
City,  toward  nightfall. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

All  the  faithful  elders,  who  were  members  of 
the  priesthood  of  this  stake,  knew  before  nine 
o'clock  the  next  morning  that  Adrian  had  been 
delivered  safely  into  the  hands  of  the  Danites  the 
night  before.  The  satisfaction  that  the  news 
brought  to  some  was  great,  especially  to  Bishop 
Lehman. 

When  Zina  first  heard  the  news  from  her  gra- 
cious husband,  she  scarcely  knew  her  own  feel- 
ings. She  had  failed,  thus  far,  to  lead  Adrian  on 
in  the  lewd  path  with  her,  and  at  times  she  felt 
gratified ;  but  when  she  thought  that  he  was  gone 
from  her  forever,  and  that  all  hope  of  gaining  his 
love  was  crushed,  she  turned  away,  sought  the 
quiet  of  her  chamber,  and  wept.  She  deter- 
mined, however,  that  the  brethren  should  not 
know  how  she  felt  over  Adrian's  fate,  and 
resolved  that  she  would  claim  part  of  the  glory 
of  planning  his  destruction.  She  took  it  upon 
herself  to  be  first  to  inform  Lehman  of  this  news, 
which  she  knew  would  be  very  gratifying  to  him, 
and,  in  so  doing,  she  would  thereby  exalt  herself 
in  his  estimation.  After  drying  her  tears  and 
assuming  a  look  of  satisfaction,  she  went  to 
Lehman's  and  summoned  him  to  a  private  meet- 
ing in  his  office.  After  stating  to  him  the  object 
of  her  visit,  the  good  news  she  bore,  his  coun- 
tenance lighted  up  with  a  beaming  smile,  as  he 
said : — 

202 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  293 

*'A11  is  well.  I  will  yet  have  the  dearest 
prize  in  all  of  Zion.  I  will  call  on  her  as  soon 
as  meeting  is  out  this  afternoon.  He  being  out 
of  the  way  she  can  now  be  brought  to  time — 
yes,  to  time. '  * 

"You  can  thank  me  for  his  being  out  of  the 
way,"  said  Zina.  "If  it  had  not  been  for  the 
skill  displayed  by  me,  your  way  would  not  be  so 
clear  as  it  is,  I  assure  you. " 

"Sweet  sister,  thou  art  next  to  her  in  loveli- 
ness. Come  to  my  arms  even  here  in  my  sacred 
office." 

Adrian  and  Jed  did  not  stir  from  their  slum- 
bers until  near  the  noon  hour.  On  awakening, 
they  planned  that  Adrian  should  call  for  Lola, 
and  take  her  to  meeting,  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  at  the  first  ward  meeting-house.  Jed 
was  to  be  at  the  meeting  and  observe  closely 
all  that  transpired,  while  Adrian  and  Lola  were 
to  come  a  little  later  than  usual. 

The  meeting  had  begun,  prayer  had  been 
offered  and  the  choir  had  sung.  High  Counselor 
Bronson  arose  and  began  a  discourse  on  "The 
purity  of  the  Saints  and  their  superior  virtues 
over  all  people  outside  of  the  Mormon  church." 
Becoming  enthused,  he  said : — 

"O  my  brethren,  I  exhort  you  all  in  the  name 
of  Joseph,  to  live  a  life  of  purity,  as  exemplied 
by  your  file  leaders  and ' ' 

He  stopped  short.  At  that  moment  Adrian 
and  Lola  came  marching  down  the  aisle;  Adrian 


294  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Stepped  aside  for  Lola  to  take  the  inside  seat, 
and  they  both  sat  down  in  the  second  row  of 
seats  immediately  in  front  of  the  altar.  There 
were  not  one-half  dozen  seats  that  were  vacant 
in  the  house  and  it  seemed  as  if  these  two  were 
left  by  special  design. 

Bronson's  eyes,  together  with  all  the  members 
of  the  holy  priesthood,  seemed  riveted  upon  them. 
There  were  but  few  except  the  members  of  the 
priesthood,  who  knew  of  Adrian's  experience  the 
night  before.  Zina,  *'The  Divine,"  was  among 
that  few.  She  turned  deathly  pale,  and  gazed 
at  him  with  a  vacant  stare  for  several  minutes, 
then  arose  and  left  the  meeting. 

Adrian  had  advised  Lola  before  going  to 
church  to  be  cool  and  collected,  no  matter  what 
should  happen.  They  sat  perfectly  calm  as  if 
nothing  unusual  had  happened.  They  had  been 
worrying  for  almost  two  weeks  over  the  actions 
of  the  brethren  toward  them.  They  saw  that 
their  presence  had  thrown  consternation  into  the 
ranks  of  the  high  council,  and  Lola  could  not 
understand  why  this  should  be  the  case;  but,  as 
she  saw  the  sparkle  of  triumph  in  Adrian's  eyes, 
she  felt  a  sense  of  vSatisfaction  and  her  coun- 
tenance beamed  with  its  accustomed  beauty. 

After  they  had  taken  their  seats,  Adrian 
looked  Bronson  straight  in  the  eyes.  The  eyes 
of  the  divine  turned  from  him  in  an  instant.  His 
countenance  fell.  His  glances  involuntarily 
turned   back   to   Adrian   several   times,   only   to 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  295 

meet  his  calm  but  steady  gaze.  Bronson  became 
extremely  nervous,  he  trembled,  stammered,  and 
attempted  to  proceed,  but  each  attempt  proved 
a  complete  failure.  Finally,  after  making  a  few- 
incoherent  remarks  with  a  dazed  expression  on 
his  face,  he  collapsed  in  utter  confusion. 

The  next  speaker  was  Lehman.  He  was  recog- 
nized as  the  best  speaker  in  the  stake.  He  col- 
lected all  his  faculties  about  him  and  arose,  as 
Bronson  retired  through  the  door  behind  the  altar 
into  the  priesthood  room,  there  to  meditate  over 
this  apparition.  Lehman  began  in  a  deep,  solemn 
voice : — 

'*My  brethren,  I  am  glad  to  appear  before  you 
to-day.  I  desire  to  speak  upon  a  few  matters  of 
business  concerning  the  brethren  of  this  city.  I 
feel  it  a  duty  as  your  file  leader  to " 

His  eyes  met  Adrian's  piercing  glance.  He 
looked  wildly  around  the  room.  There  was  a 
peculiar  expression  in  his  eyes,  and  his  face  was 
pale.  He  raised  his  hand  to  his  forehead  as  he 
said : — 

'* Brethren,  I  am  not  feeling  well,"  then  van- 
ished through  the  door  behind  the  pulpit. 

The  prophet  had  returned  to  Zion,  and  Presi- 
dent Smoot  was  out  of  town  attending  a  meeting 
in  another  part  of  the  stake.  Bildew  was  the  last 
speaker,  but  refused  to  appear.  Bishop  Blath- 
erskite was  presiding  over  the  meeting.  He 
arose  and  said,  in  his  nasal  tone : — 

**  Brethren, "  then  raising  his  eyes  to  the  ceiling 


296  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  avoid  the  look  of  Adrian,  he  continued,  "I 
have  just  received  a  revelation,  that  this  meeting 
should  come  to  a  close.  Will  the  choir  please 
sing?" 

After  singing,  he  arose  again  and  requested 
the  members  of  the  priesthood  to  remain  after 
the  meeting,  saying  that  they  would  meet  at  once 
in  the  priesthood  room. 

The  cause  of  the  confusion  was  whispered 
from  lip  to  lip,  and  before  the  congregation  was 
out  of  the  house,  it  was  generally  understood 
that  the  priesthood  had  "slipped  a  cog"  with 
reference  to  Adrian. 

AH  eyes  were  centered  on  the  couple  as  they 
walked  toward  the  door,  even  the  members  of 
the  priesthood  could  see  nothing  else.  Jed  had 
occupied  a  seat  near  the  door  of  the  cloak-room  at 
the  right  of  the  altar,  in  order  to  have  a  good  view 
of  everything  that  transpired.  During  the  time 
that  Adrian  and  Lola  were  the  center  of  attrac- 
tion, Jed  stepped  into  the  cloak-room  unobserved 
and  secreted  himself  in  a  closet  made  under  a 
large  table.  This  cloak-room  joined  the  priest- 
hood room,  the  door  to  which  stood  ajar.  The 
meeting  of  the  priesthood  was  violent.  Every 
vile  epithet  that  tongue  could  express  was  heaped 
upon  Rockwell  who,  as  they  said,  "had  allowed 
the  wolf  to  return  to  the  fold. ' '  Many  were  the 
perplexing  questions  which  arose  in  regard  to  his 
mysterious  return,  as  it  was  forty  miles  around 
the   lake,  the   nearest   way.      A  committee   was 


THE    FALSE    StAR.  297 

appointed  to  start  that  very  night  to  see  Rock- 
well; and  the  committee  who  captured  Adrian 
and  took  him  to  the  mouth  of  the  Timpanogos, 
was  to  seize  him  to-night  as  he  should  go  home 
from  the  Allison  house,  which  they  thought 
would  be  about  eleven  o'clock. 

"We  must  get  rid  of  him  before  the  sun  rises 
again,"  said  Bronson.  **It  will  never  do  to  let 
him  go  now." 

The  committee  was  instructed  to  take  him  in  a 
close  carriage  drive  to  Rock  Canyon,  and  there 
leave  him  without  fail.  The  plans  all  complete, 
the  priesthood  meeting  adjourned. 

Jed  had  heard  all  that  transpired.  He  remained 
in  the  cloak-room  until  dark,  then  he  went  home, 
thence  to  the  Allison  place  to  inform  Adrian  of 
all  that  had  taken  place  at  the  meeting.  After 
rehearsing  everything  minutely,  he  said : — 

"My  boy,  they  will  attempt  to  take  you  at  the 
dark,  shady  corner  under  the  trees  where  you 
turn  from  this  street  into  ours.  I  will  be  in  the 
corner  tree,  clad  in  white.  I  will  drop  from  the 
tree  at  the  proper  moment,  and  if  I  don't  capture 
them,  I  shall  be  greatly  mistaken.  I  will  play 
that  I  am  the  spirit  of  James  Blatherskite;  you 
appear  much  agitated  and  say  what  you  please. 
I  will  pay  no  attention  to  you ;  but  play  your  part 
well,  assuming  to  know  that  I  am  the  spirit  of 
James.  See  to  it  that  you  reach  the  comer 
promptly  at  eleven." 

He  went  home  and  to  his  room,  at  once  begin- 


398  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

ning  his  ghostly  toilet.  When  completed,  he  was 
dressed  in  white  from  head  to  foot,  his  face  as 
white  as  marble.  He  wore  a  pair  of  white  moc- 
casins to  protect  his  feet,  and  enable  him  to  move 
noiselessly.  Then,  with  his  weapons  buckled  out 
of  sight  and  his  lariat  in  his  hand,  he  went  to  the 
tree. 

Adrian  remained  with  Lola  until  five  minutes 
of  the  hour.  Just  as  he  approached  the  corner 
to  turn  east  toward  home,  a  man  appeared  from 
the  east,  one  from  the  west,  and  one  coming  from 
across  the  street  facing  him.  At  this  moment,  the 
one  coming  from  the  east,  being  somewhat  nearer 
than  the  other  two,  leveled  a  revolver  at  Adrian's 
head.  Instantly  a  white  object  appeared  behind 
him  as  noiseless  as  the  air.  The  object  seized 
the  revolver  and  wrenched  it  from  the  demon's 
hand  as  easily  as  if  it  had  been  in  the  hand  of  a 
child.     Adrian  fell  to  his  knees,  exclaiming :  — 

"O,  James!  James!  Have  you  come  again  from 
the  other  world  to  protect  your  persecuted 
friend?" 

Bildew,  who  had  held  his  revolver,  shrank  back 
speechless  against  the  fence.  Fransen  started  to 
run,  when,  quicker  than  a  flash,  Jed  threw  the 
lariat  around  him  and  fastened  the  end  he  held  to 
the  tree.  Fransen  had  made  good  time  for  a  dis- 
tance of  forty  feet,  then  came  to  the  ground  with 
such  sudden  force,  that  he  was  unable  to  rise  for 
a  few  moments.  Anderson,  seeing  Fransen  fall* 
and  unable  to  rise,  and  Bildew  helpless  against 


THE    FALSE  .STAR.  299 

the  fence,  raised  his  hands  to  Jed  imploringly  and 
said,  "Angel  of  mercy,  what  wilt  thou  have  me 
do?" 

By  the  time  Fransen  had  scrambled  to  his  feet^ 
Jed  drew  him  nearer  to  him.  Then  Jed  said,  in 
the  voice  of  James: —  I 

**You  have  called  me  angel  of  mercy.  Were 
you  merciful  to  me  on  that  dark  night,  when  you 
and  your  fiendish  allies  so  cruelly  murdered  me.? 
Or  to  sweet  Evelyn  who  suffered  all  that  mortal 
could  endure,  and  died  at  your  hands?  Why  a^ 
for  mercy  when  you  have  never  shown  mercy?  t 
have  followed  your  murderous  footsteps.  You 
had  planned  to  deliver  Adrian  into  the  same  mur- 
derous hands  that  deprived  me  of  my  being,  but 
I  was  sent  to  receive  him  and  to  protect  his  life, 
and  remember.  Oh,  remember !  I  will  perform  the 
duty  well." 

While  he  was  talking,  he  gave  the  rope  slack ; 
it  fell  from  Franzen  to  the  ground.  Fransen 
scarcely  realized  what  power  had  thrown  him  to 
the  earth  or  had  drawn  him  back.  He  saw  only 
the  ghostly  form  and  heard  the  mysterious  voice 
of  James.  The  three  men  gazed  at  him  in  terror. 
The  white  form  was  all  that  they  could  now  see, 
as  Adrian  had  mysteriously  disappeared.  Finally, 
Bildew  tremblingly  said: — 

*'If  thou  art  James,  wilt  thou  forgive  us  fbrthe 
part  we  took  in  thy  murder?" 

*' Fiends!  Robbers  of  human  life!  You  know  full 
well  that  you  and  your  priesthood,  the  author  of 


300  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

these  crimes,  are  the  vilest  band  of  murderers  who 
have  disgraced  the  human  family,  since  the  days  of 
Nero.  Retribution  must  follow."  He  stood 
silent  and  motionless  for  some  minutes,  which 
only  increased  the  horror  of  the  elders.  Finally 
Jed  said  in  a  solemn  monotone :  — 

"Leave  off  your  murderous  practices,  and  my 
mission  is  fulfilled;  otherwise,  I  am  doomed  to 
haunt  you  during  your  mortal  existence." 

Then  waving  his  hand  as  a  signal  for  their 
departure,  they  turned  and  fled. 

Jed  then  took  his  dark  mantle  which  he  had  se- 
creted near  by,  threw  it  around  him,  and  as  one  of 
the  elders  looked  back,  there  were  no  signs  of  the 
ghost  to  be  seen.  A  few  minutes  later  and  he 
was  with  Adrian;  hurriedly  changed  his  cloth- 
ing, he  said: — 

"You  fully  realize  that  I  have  enlisted  for  the 
war.  That  is  a  good  squad  I  have  drilled  to- 
night. They  have  had  a  revelation  that,  I  think, 
will  do  them  good.  These  are  old  soldiers  of 
Mountain  Meadow  fame.  I  am  of  the  opinion 
that  they  are  vanquished  as  foes,  and  that  we  have 
made  them  workers  among  the  members  of  the 
priesthood  for  our  cause.  Mark  this  suggestion, 
my  boy,  there  will  be  much  agitation  among  the 
anointed  on  to-morrow. ' ' 

"I  have  no  doubt  about  it.  You  played  your 
part  in  the  drama  to-night,  even  better  than  last 
night.     Now,  let  us  inform  Lola  of  this  victory. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  30I 

I  told  her  I  would  let  her  know  to-night.  I  also 
told  her  about  my  experience  last  night." 

"Very  well,  we  will  go  and  relieve  Lola's  mind, 
but  we  will  avoid  the  sidewalks  for  to-night  at 
least. '  * 

Lola  was  wild  with  anxiety  to  learn  the  out- 
come of  this  second  adventure.  They  told  her  all, 
which  was  very  gratifying  to  her;  after  which, 
the  men  went  home  as  secretly  as  they  had  come. 
There  was  deep  satisfaction  in  Lola's  mind  be- 
cause of  Adrian's  almost  miraculous  escape  from 
these  two  murderous  assaults;  yet,  she  feared 
that  these  attacks  would  be  repeated  until  it 
would  finally  end  in  his  destruction. 


I 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

/  The  day  following  the  second  attempt  at  de- 
struction of  Adrian,  was  one  long  to  be  remem- 
bered by  the  priesthood  of  the  Utah  Stake  of  Zion. 
By  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  intense  excite- 
ment prevailed.  Groups  of  Saints  stood  in  the 
streets  talking  with  suppressed  excitement. 
Those  who  were  not  of  the  faithful  in  all  things 
found  it  convenient  to  keep  off  the  streets.  The 
excitement  grew  to  such  extent,  that  the  priest- 
hood was  convened  in  extraordinary  session  at  the 
hour  of  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

The  three  elders  who  had  attempted  to  capture 
Adrian  were  present,  and  were  called  upon  to 
explain  why  they  had  failed  in  their  work.  An- 
derson arose  and  said : — 

*' Brethren,  we  went  to  the  spot  designated. 
About  the  appointed  hour  the  young  man 
appeared.  Brother  Bildew  was  in  the  act  of  tak- 
ing hold  of  him  with  his  left  hand,  his  revolver  in 
his  right.  Fransen  was  hurrying  up  in  front  and 
I  from  the  other  side.  Suddenly,  the  form  of  a 
man  clad  in  white  appeared  behind  Brother  Bil- 
dew as  mysteriously  as  if  it  had  dropped  from  the 
sky.  Instantly  it  seized  the  revolver  from 
Brother  Bildew 's  grasp,  he  staggered  back  speech- 
less and  helpless  against  the  fence.  Young  Wal- 
tham  sank  to  his  knees  and  cried  something  about 
*  James  coming  to  protect  him.'  Brother  Fran- 
3oa 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  303 

sen  started  to  run,  when  he  was  struck  to  the 
earth  with  such  force  that  he  was  unable  to  rise 
for  several  moments.  I  turned  and  young  Wal- 
tham  had  vanished.  The  ghost  moved  with 
noiseless  tread.  His  countenance  was  that  of 
James.  Seeing  my  companions  so  suddenly  and 
mysteriously  overpowered,  I  asked  for  mercy. 
When  he  spoke,  it  was  the  voice  of  James.  The 
sound  of  that  voice  and  the  words  he  uttered,  filled 
me  with  a  remorse  of  conscience  and  a  feeling  of 
dread  that  I  shall  never  forget.  He  spoke  of 
things  connected  with  the  dispatching  of  James, 
which  I  know  are  not  known  outside  of  the  priest- 
hood and  the  Danites.  He  said  that  he  had  fol- 
lowed our  footsteps  and  knew  our  plans,  that  he 
was  sent  to  receive  young  Waltham  from  the 
hands  of  those  who  were  to  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  Rockwell." 

Here  Bronson  protested  loudly,  that  he  knew 
Rockwell  too  well  to  be  deceived,  and  that  it  was 
Rockwell  beyond  a  question  who  had  received 
Adrian.  Lintle  was  equally  positive.  During 
the  animated  controversy,  the  following  discus- 
sion passed  between  Bronson  and  Fransen.  Wheii 
Bronson  said: —  • 

**I  say  to  thee,  brethren,  that  these  three  elders 
must  have  been  dreaming." 

"Dreaming,  hey?  Look  upon  rriy  bruised  body,. « 
elbows,  and  knees;  then  say  that  this  is  a  dreaml* 
Thou  art  unjust  to  me,"  ejaculated  Fransen.     : :  .• 

''I  see!  I  see!  ha!  ha!  ha!  Skinned knees^tict 
elbows  by  a  hallucination." 


304  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Hallucinations  are  none  of  mine.  Verily,  I 
saw  with  mine  own  eyes." 

"Saw  what?  A  spook?  And  at  the  command 
of  the  hobgoblin,  thou  didst  crack  thy  shins." 

"This  is  not  a  time  for  jesting;  for  verily,  I 
saw  the  ghost  of  James — his  voice,  his  eyes,  his 
every  feature  and  complexion.  O  my  holy 
brother!  Do  not  mock  me  further.  I  can  deal 
with  the  living ;  but  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead, 
I  cannot  and  will  not  hold  communion.  I  not 
only  saw  the  apparition,  as  did  my  brothers  here, 
but  thou  didst  see  him  twice,  and  believed  him 
Rockwell." 

"Oh!  fie,  man!  Thou  art  mad!  Rockwell 
would  not  say  he  saw  me  not.  Verily,  I  did  ask 
a  blessing  on  him,  at  the  point  of  meeting  in  the 
road,  and,  by  the  powers  of  heaven,  he  was 
blessed  in  all  his  undertakings.  *Twas  so  re- 
vealed to  me  there  on  the  spot  of  meeting.  This 
act  of  thine  is  crafty — 'tis  very  cunning  to  crack 
thy  bones  to  save  a  cur;  but  thou  dost  dissem- 
ble. 'Tis  proven,  when  thou  dost  say,  the  ghost's 
complexion  was  that  of  James;  for  thou  wert  in 
the  dark." 

"  'Tis  true,  we  were  in  the  dark;  but  that 
countenance  was  as  light  as  the  stars.  Thou  hast 
said  thou  didst  ask  a  blessing  upon  the  holy  head 
of  Rockwell,  and  that  this  fact  he  would  not  deny. 
On  this  we  rest  our  case.  If  he  sayeth  that  he 
received  that  blessing,  then  we  have  lost;  but, 
if  be  fee  ignorant  of  tb§  m§§ting  and  denies  that 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  3o5 

• 

he  received  youn^  Waltham  at  Pelican  Point, 
then  thou  hast  dealt  with  a  spook.  'Twill  be  ours 
to  say  deceit,  cunning,  craft,  all  to  save  a  cur. ' ' 

"If  Brother  Porter  deny,  then  I  will  yield  the 
point;  but  I  know  that  he  will  not  deny  either 
the  meeting  or  the  receiving  of  the  young  man. '  * 

*'I  care  not  whether  he  deny  or  not,  I  will  never 
again  go  on  a  similar  errand  in  the  dark.  How- 
ever, we  will  leave  the  whole  matter  to  Brother 
Rockwell." 

The  whole  priesthood  decided  to  do  the  same, 
and  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  be  reconvened 
on  the  appearance  of  Rockwell. 

Two  days  later,  Rockwell  made  his  appearance 
in  the  Garden  City,  accompanied  by  the  commit- 
tee who  were  sent  for  him  on  Sunday.  The 
meeting  of  the  priesthood  was  at  once  recon- 
vened. Rockwell  was  first  informed  of  all  that 
had  transpired,  then  called  upon  for  an  explana- 
tion, when  he  said: — 

"I  never  met  Brothers  Bronson  and  Lintle  on 
the  road;  nor  was  I  nearer  Pelican  Point,  Satur- 
day night,  than  my  home." 

**It  certainly  was  thee,  Brother  Porter,"  in- 
sisted Bronson. 

"I  tell  thee  that  I  was  not  at  either  place." 

**  Who  on  earth  could  it  have  been?  It  was  thy 
very  semblance. ' ' 

"I  know  not.  I  only  know  that  I  was  not 
there,  and  when  I  say  as  much,  I  mean  it,  by 
h — ^1;  and  I  don't  want  it  questioned." 


306  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

**I  cannot  understand  the  mystery,"  said  Bron- 
son,  **but  I  presume  I  will  be  forced  to  yield." 

**Thou  hast  met  the  same  mysterious  personage 
that  we  did  meet,"  said  Fransen.  "  'Twas  a 
spook,  Brother  Bronson,  a  spook.  'Tis  cunning 
craft  in  thee,  to  dissemble  in  this  way  to  save  a 
cur." 

There  was  silence  for  a  time.  All  seemed  to 
be  in  a  deep  study.     Presently,  the  Danite  said: — 

"Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?" 

All  was  silent  again.  Then  Rockwell  broke 
the  silence  again,  by  saying : — 

**If  any  brother  will  volunteer  to  join  me,  I 
will  get  him  the  first  time  he  appears  on  the 
street  after  dark. ' ' 

Not  a  word  was  spoken  in  answer  to  his  prop- 
osition. He  glanced  from  one  to  another  as  if 
endeavoring  to  read  their  answer.  Presently  he 
cleared  his  throat,  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
said  rebukingly : — 

*' Cowardice  seems  to  have  taken  possession  of 
you  all.  I  will  get  him,  afoot  and  alone.  I  need 
no  help,  by  h — 1. ' ' 

The  brethren  were  exceedingly  glad  to  hear 
this  voluntary  proposition,  as  they  were  satisfied 
with  the  experience  of  those  who  had  attempted 
to  get  Adrian.  The  meeting  adjourned  with  the 
understanding  that  Rockwell  was  to  take  the  life 
of  Adrian  at  the  first  opportunity. 

Jed  was  watching  for  Rockwell.  He  saw  him 
as  he  came  into  the  Garden  City  in  company  with 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  307 

the  two  brethren.  He  tried  every  way  to  hear 
the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  which  was  con- 
vened on  Rockwell's  arrival;  but  owing  to  strag- 
gling members  of  the  priesthood  outside  of  the 
building,  he  failed  completely.  After  the  meet- 
ing was  over,  he  could  not  catch  a  word  to  gfive 
him  a  key  to  the  situation  which  was  now  crit- 
ical. He  had  one  of  the  worst  men  in  the  whole 
church  to  deal  with.  His  movements  must  be 
cautious.  He  told  Adrian  to  keep  in  the  house, 
until  he  could  learn  something  definite  as  to  the 
Danite's  plan  of  action.  The  Danite's  move- 
ments were  all  after  nightfall. 

The  second  night  after  the  Danite  reached  the 
Garden  City,  Jed  located  him  as  Rockwell  was 
making  a  regular  beat  on  the  sidewalk  usually 
traveled  by  Adrian  in  coming  home  from  the 
Allison  place.  From  nine  o'clock  until  a  late 
hour,  the  Danite  kept  his  pace  like  a  hungry 
beast  awaiting  its  prey.  Finally,  weary  of  the 
task,  he  vanished  for  the  night. 

Jed  had  drawn  near  to  the  fiend  and  concealed 
himself  but  gained  no  opportunity  to  strike  a 
telling  blow,  as  he  desired,  and  still  abstain  from 
crime.  When  the  Destroying  Angel  was  gone, 
Jed  said  to  himself,  "Eureka,"  then  went  home. 

The  next  evening  he  determined  as  the  time  to 
give  the  Destroying  Angela  chase  that  would 
have  a  lasting  effect.  He  knew  that  Adrian  was 
closely  watched,  so  he  advised  him  to  go  to  Alli- 
son's just  after  sunset.     Jed  observed  the  Danite 


308  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

on  the  watch  three  blocks  above  the  Allison 
place.  About  nine  o'clock,  he  concealed  himself 
in  a  thicket  of  lilac  bushes  near  the  shady  corner 
on  the  inside  of  the  sidewalk  and  against  the. 
fence,  which  was  but  two  planks  high  at  this 
point.  It  was  not  long  before  the  Danite  came 
along  and  took  up  his  beat,  as  he  had  the  night 
previous. 

Adrian  was  to  remain  in  the  Allison  house  un- 
til Jed  should  call  for  him,  if  he  had  to  remain  all 
night.  He  carefully  studied  his  plans.  One 
false  move  and  the  cunning  Danite  might  become 
master  of  the  situation.  He  had  dressed  himself 
in  his  ghostly  garb,  with  a  long  black  mantle, 
covering  him  from  head  to  foot,  before  concealing 
himself  in  the  bushes. 

Rockwell  sauntered  leisurely  up  and  down  the 
sidewalk  until  nearly  eleven  o'clock.  At  this 
time,  as  he  was  passing  the  bunch  of  lilacs,  he 
uttered  in  a  low  gutteral  tone,  indicating  the 
maliciousness  of  his  soul  and  resembling  the 
growl  of  a  ferocious  beast : — 

' '  O  young  Adrian !  I  will  have  the  happy  priv- 
ilege of  adding  thee  to  my  list  of  lifeless  imps.  I 
will  show  the  brethren  that  spooks  have  no  effect 
with  Porter.  He  will  certainly  come  soon.  I 
know  he  is  still  there,  for  the  light  is  burning  in 
the  parlor.  When  he  comes,  I  will  kill  him  and 
leave  him  on  the  sidewalk  as  a  warning  for 
others,  that  they  must  obey  counsel. '  * 

Jed  Stepped  behind  him  with  a  silent  tread,  as 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  309 

the  Danite  passed  by  him  uttering  these  words. 
He  had  cleared  for  action,  he  had  left  his  black 
mantle  in  the  thicket.  He  began  to  whirl  his 
lariat.  No  sooner  had  the  Destroying  Angel 
finished  the  last  words,  than  the  rope  fell  around 
him  and  was  drawn  tight  around  his  body  and 
arms,  so  that  he  could  not  use  either.  He  was 
not  twenty  paces  from  Jed,  who  gave  the  rope 
such  a  strong  jerk,  that  the  Danite,  taken  wholly 
unawares,  came  to  the  sidewalk  at  full  length. 
Jed  threw  his  end  of  the  rope  over  a  limb,  and 
before  the  Danite  had  time  to  realize  anything, 
he  was  dangling  in  mid-air.  Jed  tied  the  other 
end  around  the  next  tree.  As  the  Danite  whirled 
round  and  round,  desperately  struggling  to  free 
himself,  he  beheld  the  ghost  he  had  heard  so 
much  about,  silently  advancing  toward  him.  It 
gently  touched  him,  and  stopped  his  whirling 
motion.  A  thrill  of  horror  shot  through  him  as 
he  felt  that  he  was  confronted  by  the  spirit  of  a 
being,  whom  he  had  murdered  in  cold  blood.  The 
record  of  his  life  flashed  through  his  mind,  and  in 
his  terror  he  imagined  he  heard  the  groans  of  his 
dying  victims,  as  he  saw  their  eyes  glazed  in 
death.  As  the  white  object  approached  him,  he 
said  in  a  pleading  voice : — 

"Spare  me,  I  pray  thee.  All  the  crimes  that  I 
have  committed  were  against  my  will.  None  of 
them  were  committed,  except  by  order  of  the 
priesthood.    Release  me,  I  pray,  for  I  am  dying. " 

**Why  should  you  fear  the  dark  river  of  death, 


3IO  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

when  you  have  sent  so  many  before  you?  You 
said  you  would  kill  young  Adrian  and  leave  him 
on  the  walk  as  a  warning  to  all  who  refuse  to 
obey  counsel,  implying  that  all  who  believe  in 
virtue  and  honor  and  attempt  to  live  it,  while  in 
the  thralldom  of  the  priesthood,  are  doomed. 
You  have  been  a  willing  tool  in  the  hands  of  the 
priesthood,  to  execute  their  crimes  and  gloat  over 
the  dying  agonies  of  your  victims.  Have  you 
forgotten  when  you  removed  the  gag  from  my 
mouth,  in  order  that  you  and  your  inhuman  com- 
panion might  have  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  my 
dying  words  and  groans?" 

"Forgive  me,  I  pray,  for  the  sake  of  my  chil- 
dren." 

' '  If  you  pray,  I  should  be  merciful ;  it  is  well 
to  pray,  and,  when  you  pray  for  your  children,  I 
should  be  doubly  merciful  —  returning  good 
for  evil." 

Here  Jed  took  the  Danite's  weapons  from  him. 
Then  he  continued : — 

"These  crimes  must  cease.  I  will  release  you 
upon  one  condition,  that  you  go  straight  to  some 
of  the  members  of  the  priesthood.  Inform  them 
of  all  that  has  happened,  then  leave  the  fair 
City  of  Gardens  forever.  If  you  fail  to  comply 
with  this  injunction,  then  vengeance  is  mine  for 
the  crimes  committed  against  me. ' ' 

By  this  time,  the  Danite  was  breathing  hard. 
His  face  was  a  livid  purple,  as  he  said: — 

"I  will  obey  thy  every  command. " 


THE    FALSE    STAR,  3II 

Here  Jed  lowered  him,  removed  the  rope  and 
disappeared.  The  Danite  was  weak  and  faint 
for  a  few  minutes,  then  gaining  his  feet,  he 
looked  around  and  he  was  alone.  His  first  im- 
pulse was  to  get  away,  as  he  had  seen  all  of  the 
ghost  he  cared  about. 

Rockwell  lost  no  time  in  informing  Bronson 
and  Lehman  of  his  experience  with  the  ghost, 
and  in  two  hours  from  the  time  he  was  given  his 
freedom,  he  left  the  city.  He  went  straight 
home,  stopping,  however,  at  Hickman's,  whose 
place  was  on  his  road.  He  ate  breakfast  with  the 
Danite  chief  and  related  to  him,  in  secrecy,  his 
experience  with  the  ghost.  Its  moralizing  effect 
was  so  strong,  that  Hickman  confessed  his  crimes 
at  once  and  wrote  his  biography.  Rockwell 
never  made  another  raid. 

Jed  went  for  Adrian  as  soon  as  the  scene  was 
over.  He  described  to  Adrian  and  Lola,  in  de- 
tail, everything  that  had  taken  place  with  the 
Danite,  which  they  enjoyed  as  much  as  they 
could  under  all  the  circumstances.  After  Jed 
had  rehearsed  everything,  Lola  said : — 

'*My  prayers  are  being  answered.  I  have 
prayed  so  earnestly  that  Adrian's  life  might  be 
spared  and  that  you,  dear  Jed,  who  have  taken 
up  our  cause,  would  not  be  compelled  to  shed 
blood ;  for  the  word  of  God  teaches  us  in  these 
words,  'Thou  shalt  not  kill.'  I  believe  it  means 
just  what  it  says,  and  those  who  take  life  as  a 
blood  atonement,  will  be  required   to  answer  at 


312  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

the  judgment  seat.  I  could  be  better  reconciled 
to  our  religion,  if  our  leaders  would  strive  to 
establish  peace  and  harmony  rather  than  envy 
and  strife.  I  feel  that  it  is  wrong  in  the  extreme, 
for  them  to  persecute  any  member  because  he 
happens  to  differ  from  the  members  of  the  priest- 
hood in  some  of  his  opinions.  As  for  our  case, 
I  have  the  conscienciousness  that  we  have  right 
and  justice  on  our  side. ' ' 

"There  is  no  question  about  right  and  justice 
being  on  your  side, "  said  Jed.  "It  seems  to  be 
always  on  the  side  of  everyone  who  falls  under 
the  condemnation '  of  the  priesthood.  I  could 
refer  you  to  several  cases  right  here  in  our  midst, 
where  right  and  justice  have  perished  under  the 
reeking,  bloody  hands  of  the  Danites. " 

"Yes,"  said  Adrian,  "every  word  you  say  is 
true.  I  am  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  prac- 
tice of  blood  atonement  and  the  revelations.  I 
wish  we  could  get  away  from  everything  con- 
nected with  it ;  but  let  come  what  will,  we  have 
resolved  to  die,  rather  than  enter  into  the  shame- 
ful practice  of  polygamy, ' ' 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

*' — Oh,  the  lover  may 
Distrust  that  look  which  steals  his  soul  away. 
The  babe  may  cease  to  think  that  it  can  play 
With  heaven's  rainbow; — Alchymists  may  doubt 
The  shining  gold  their  crucible  gives  out, 
But  Faith,  fanatic  Faith,  once  wedded  fast 
To  some  dear  falsehood,  hugs  it  to  the  last." 

Thomas  Moore.     Lalla  Rookh. 

The  storm  continued  some  time  among  the  high 
council  without  abatement,  after  the  episode  of 
Rockwell.  Bronson  and  Lehman  rehearsed  all 
that  the  Danite  had  told  them  with  reference  to 
his  experience  with  the  ghost.  Prior  to  this,  the 
great  Destroying  Angel  was  deemed  invincible 
— equaled  only  by  Bishop  John  D.  Lee  and  sur- 
passed only  by  the  Chief  William  Hickman. 
Now  the  fact  stared  them  in  the  face,  that  such 
fearless  men  as  these  must  yield,  when  they 
entered  the  arena  with  a  supernatural  antagonist. 

In  view  of  all  the  excitement  and  trouble,  a  rev- 
elation was  received,  that  Adrian  should  be  spared 
but  that  he  was  called  on  a  mission  to  England, 
and  should  remain  three  years  in  that  mission 
field  before  he  could  have  a  recommend  to  take 
Lola  through  the  endowment.  This  was  the 
plan  adopted,  after  long  deliberation  of  the 
brethren  in  high  council  convened,  as  the  best 
and  safest  way  of  getting  rid  of  Adrian,  and  then 
forcing  the  girl  to  Lehman's  terms  by  a  different 
method.  They  construed  the  words  of  Jed, 
313 


314  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

whom  they  supposed  to  be  the  spirit  of  James,  to 
signify  that  if  they  spared  the  life  of  Adrian,  all 
things  would  be  right,  even  if  he  was  denied  the 
privilege  altogether  of  marrying  Lola.  Now, 
everything  was  turned  in  this  direction.  Leh- 
man^was  permitted  to  lay  every  plan  and  all  was 
absolute  secrecy.  He  selected  Adrian's  bishop 
to  talk  to  him  first,  as  to  the  revelation  about  his 
going  on  the  mission.  Almost  two  months  had 
elapsed  since  the  attempted  destruction  of  Adrian, 
before  this  conclusion  was  fully  arrived  at. 
Adrian  had  spent  much  of  his  time  in  company 
with  Lola,  and  Jed  had  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for 
danger. 

Pioneer  Day,  or  the  24th  of  July,  came  and  was 
celebrated  with  great  rejoicing.  The  greatest 
procession  ever  before  witnessed  in  the  Garden 
City,  was  a  part  of  the  program  of  the  day.  For 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Territory,  they 
had  a  large  float,  and  on  this  float  were  seated 
seventy- five  three-year-old  children,  all  dressed 
in  white.  This  float  was  entitled,  "Utah's  Best 
Crop."  There  has  never  been  a  celebration  in 
Utah  since  that  day,  without  reproducing  this 
float.  The  next  day  after  this  celebration. 
Blatherskite  called  on  Adrian  to  converse  about 
the  mission.  One  would  naturally  suppose  that 
Adrian  had  received  sufficient  persecution  at  the 
hands  of  the  church  dignitaries,  to  drive  the  most 
devout  from  the  fold.  His  nature  revolted 
against  crime  of  every  kind.     He  loved  truth, 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  315 

honesty,  and  virtue ;  yet,  he  had  seen  every  class 
of  crime  committed,  with  impunity,  imder  the 
counsel  and  command  of  the  priesthood.  Nor 
did  these  crimes  bring  the  blush  of  shame  to  the 
cheeks  of  the  faithful;  on  the  contrary,  they 
declared  the  crimes  to  be  the  will  of  God  as  re- 
vealed to  them.  In  the  face  of  all  of  this,  his  life 
had  been  attempted  three  times,  himself  made 
miserable,  together  with  his  nearest  and  dearest 
friends;  yet,  when  Blatherskite  said  to  him: — 

"My  young  brother,  it  is  reveated  that  thou 
shalt  go  on  a  mission  to  England  for  three  years. 
Then  if  thou  provest  faithful,  thou  canst  marry 
as  thou  wilt  choose."  He  answered  without 
hesitation : — 

**Yes,  I  will  go;  I  will  do  anything  which 
meets  my  ideas  of  right." 

His  confidence  in  those  whom  he  had  ever 
looked  to  for  counsel  had  been  great,  though  it 
had  been  shaken  often;  yet,  the  moment  they 
suggested  something  that  he  could  do  without 
grinding  his  conscience,  he  was  willing  to  listen 
to  their  counsel.  He  stopped  not  to  think  that 
it  might  be  for  the  wrecking  of  his  future  happi- 
ness, by  robbing  him  of  his  loved  one.  He 
thought  only  of  his  duty  to  God,  in  complying 
with  His  will. 

When  Blatherskite  reported  to  the  high  council 
that  Adrian  had  consented  to  go  on  the  mission, 
it  brought  infinite  satisfaction  to  them.  Lehman 
was  elated ;  he  now  saw  an  opportunity  to  force 


3l6  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

the  girl  to  terms.  Should  he  fail,  he  would  have 
her  sacrificed  and  see  to  it  that  Adrian  did  not 
return.     He  had  his  plans  laid  deep  and  strong. 

A  meeting  of  the  high  council  was  called  for  the 
first  Tuesday  in  September.  At  this  meeting, 
the  plans  of  Lehman  were  adopted  in  every  par- 
ticular. Adrian  was  to  go  to  the  headquarters  of 
the  foreign  mission  at  Liverpool,  and  work  in 
conjunction  with  the  head  of  the  mission.  In 
order  to  enthuse  him  with  the  work,  and  fearing 
that  he  might  have  grown  a  little  cold  in  the 
faith,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  had  observed  many 
things  connected  with  the  inner  workings  of  the 
church  mechanism,  they  decided  to  give  him  six 
or  eight  months  coaching,  during  which  time, 
everything  should  be  done  by  the  brethren  in 
their  power,  to  reconfirm  him  fully  in  the  holy 
cause  of  the  church. 

It  was  decided  that  he  should  start  the  first  of 
the  following  April.  They  sent  a  committee  to 
inquire  if  that  time  would  be  agreeable  to  him. 
In  answer  to  which  he  replied  :— 

''I  should  like  to  accomplish  my  work  as  soon 
as  possible,  that  I  may  return  and  claim  my 
bride.  I  fully  realize  that  if  the  work  of  the 
Lord  demands,  we  should  ever  be  willing  to  sac- 
rifice our  own  inclinations  for  Him.  He  who 
died  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  stopped  not  to  con- 
sider his  own  feelings;  but  even  in  the  Garden 
of  Gethsemane,  after  praying  that  the  bitter  cup 
might  pass,  he  said:  'Nevertheless  not  my  will, 
but  thine,  be  done. '  " 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  317 

Their  marriage  had  been  deferred  twice,  which 
had  been  a  sore  disappointment  to  them.  Her 
happiness  he  sought  above  everything  else.  He 
knew  she  could  not  lead  a  happy  life  with  another 
in  their  home  to  dispute  her  love;  beside,  the 
very  thoughts  of  having  another  in  his  home 
claiming  any  part  of  his  love,  was  revolting  to  his 
nature.  His  love  for  Lola  was  so  great  that  this 
alone,  above  every  other  consideration,  led  him 
to  accept  the  call  and  promise  to  go  at  the  ap- 
pointed time.  He  thought  he  saw  perfect  hap- 
piness in  store  for  them  at  the  expiration  of  three 
years  and  a  half — in  a  union  agreeable  to  the 
church,  to  their  parents,  and  a  haven  of  bliss  for 
themselves  forever.  He  reasoned  thus  to  him- 
self: "Our  love  is  approved  of  heaven,  therefore 
I  know  we  shall  be  happy.  Our  hearts  are  joined 
for  eternity,  and  it  is  now  in  my  grasp  to  secure 
this  happiness  for  us  at  the  end  of  my  mission. 
Shall  I  act?  This  is  an  age  to  wait,  yet  our  union 
will  be  the  sweeter,  and  no  power  can  separate 
us,  when  once  we  are  united  in  holy  wedlock. ' ' 

These  were  the  thoughts  which  went  in  rapid 
succession  through  his  mind,  when  he  finally 
gave  the  committee  his  answer. 

He  had  not  mentioned  the  matter  of  going  on 
the  mission,  to  Lola  or  their  parents;  but  after  it 
was  definitely  determined  upon  and  the  time  that 
he  should  start,  he  felt  that  he  should  not  keep  it 
from  them  longer.  Therefore,  he  requested  a 
meeting  of  the  two  families  at  the  home  of  the 


3l8  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Allisons  for  that  evening,  where  he  told  them 
all  that  had  transpired  and  his  reasons  for  doing 
as  he  had. 

The  parents  were  at  once  converted  to  the  idea 
that  he  had  done  the  right  thing.  It  would  stop 
all  trouble,  they  reasoned,  and  would  bring  joy 
to  all  at  the  expiration  of  the  time,  therefore  the 
plan  received  their  earnest  co-operation. 

With  Lola  it  was  quite  different.  At  the  first 
announcement  of  his  intentions,  a  shadow  of  in- 
creased sadness  fell  upon  her.  Dark  forebodings 
filled  the  way  and  she  felt  that,  when  Adrian 
passed  beyond  the  bounds  of  Utah,  he  left  never 
to  return  to  her.  The  plan  had  met  with  such 
hearty  approval  by  their  parents,  that  she  did  not 
protest,  but  simply  said: — 

''I  must  approve;  but  oh!  my  dear  ones,  the 
time  seems  so  long ! " 

When  Adrian  and  his  parents  were  gone,  she 
retired  to  her  room  at  once.  When  alone,  her 
feelings  gave  way  under  the  terrible  strain.  She 
wept  the  most  bitter  tears  she  had  yet  experi- 
enced. Her  sorrow  was  greater  now,  than  when 
Adrian  was  under  the  sentence  of  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  holy  priesthood  and  they  were  seek- 
ing to  execute  the  sentence,  whenever  he  stepped 
into  the  dark ;  for  she  had  a  presentiment  that  he 
was  being  protected  by  Providence.  She  said  to 
herself  many  times:  "Oh!  I  shall  be  so  lonely 
when  he  is  far  beyond  the  seas."  Then  she 
would  strive  to  dry  her  tears,  only  to  weep  again. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  319 

She  walked  the  floor,  then  clasping  her  hands, 
she  said:  '*I  must  be  more  resolute.  Oh!  Why 
do  I  weep?  Even  my  loving  parents  approve. 
They  would  not  sanction  anything  that  was  not 
for  my  welfare. '  *  Then  suddenly  starting  as  if 
from  a  horrible  dream,  she  cried,  almost  uncon- 
scious of  what  she  said:  "O  Lord,  have  mercy 
upon  my  poor  soul!"  A  remembrance  came  to 
her  mind  of  something  that  was  said  to  her,  when 
but  a  little  child,  and  which  had  long  since 
passed  from  her  mind.  A  number  of  children 
were  playing  on  the  lawn,  when  an  older  girl 
became  envious  of  her,  and  said:  "You  need 
not  be  so  stuck  up,  Miss  Lola;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Allison  are  not  your  pa  and  ma,  I  just  guess 
you're  old  Klingensmith's  girl."  She  wept  and 
tried  to  forget  the  words,  but  could  not.  She 
could  not  believe  it,  for  her  parents  had  treated 
her  with  even  more  kindness,  if  such  a  thing 
were  possible,  than  they  had  treated  Willy.  She 
laid  her  aching  head  upon  her  pillow  and  closed 
her  eyes ;  the  words  of  this  playmate  of  childhood 
rang  in  her  ears,  and  she  could  not  rest.  She 
remembered  that  the  child  was  overheard  by  its 
mother,  and  punished  severely  for  saying  such  a 
cruel  thing  to  her.  It  could  not  be  true;  but 
why  did  those  words  come  to  her  so  vividly  after 
many  years  had  passed  away,  and  at  a  time  when 
she  was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow?  Her  mind 
then  turned  to  the  actions  of  the  priesthood.  She 
thought  of  all  of  their  inconsistent  and  deceptive 


320  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

actions  of  the  past,  which  caused  her  to  have  an 
ominous  dread  as  to  her  own  fate.  She  could 
not  divine  the  meaning  of  the  priesthood,  other- 
wise, than  that  their  persecution  would  be  turned 
against  her,  and  that  she  might,  even,  share  the 
fate  of  poor  Evelyn.  Finally,  wearied  and 
exhausted  she  fell  asleep. 

The  whole  community  undei stood  the  next  day 
that  Adrian  had  been  called  on  a  mission,  and 
that  he  was  to  start  the  next  April.  The  invis- 
ible hand,  moving  to  perform  its  mysterious  work 
instantly  changed  surly,  frowning  looks,  for  the 
young  couple  and  their  friends,  into  smiles.  Zina 
called  upon  both  families,  the  next  day,  as  did  a 
host  of  her  female  associates.  She  dressed  her- 
self in  the  most  fascinating  manner,  and  re- 
mained in  Adrian's  company  as  long  as  possible. 
The  brethren  came  in^numbers  from  time  to  time 
to  congratulate  him  on  the  step  he  had  decided 
to  take,  and  to  strengthen  him  in  the  vfork  of  the 
Lord. 

The  brethren  strove  to  make  the  remainder  of 
his  stay  in  Zion,  one  continual  round  of  pleasure. 
They  took  them  riding,  rowing,  fishing,  and  on 
pleasure  trips  of  various  kinds.  They  gave  them 
tea  parties,  and  during  the  winter  months  sleigh- 
ing parties  were  given  in  their  honor,  as  well  as 
a  number  of  grand  balls.  A  home  theatrical 
company  was  organized  and  named  in  honor  of 
the  young  couple.  Some  carried  the  deception 
so  far,   that  many  of ''Utah's  Best  Crop*- were 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  32t 

named  for  them,  the  names,  however,  oeing 
changed  afterward.  Numerous  acts  of  kindness 
and  couQtless  words  of  praise  were  lavished  upon 
them,  by  those  who  had  formerly  persecuted 
them.  The  members  of  each  family,  except 
Lola,  felt  a  sense  of  relief,  as  they  thought  their 
troubles  were  passed.  She  half  believed,  at 
times,  that  the  intentions  of  the  priesthood  were 
for  the  best,  and  really  enjoyed  the  pleasures 
which  were  brought  to  Adrian  and  their  parents 
in  consequence  of  the  changed  conditions.  She 
was  often  vexed  with  herself  for  doubting  the 
good  faith  of  the  brethren :  but  this  involuntary 
feeling  of  unrest  would  take  possession  of  her, 
as  she  imagined  that  she  could  discover  an  un- 
broken chain  of  hypocrisy,  that  would  inevitably 
bring  them  sorrow  and  distress. 


21 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

"Again,  again,  and  oft  again,  my  love. 
If  there  be  life  below  and  hope  above. 
He  will  return,  but  now,  the  moments  bring 
The  time  of  parting  with  redoubled  wing ; 
The  why,  the  where,  what  boots  it  now.  to  tell. 
Since  all  must  end  in  that  wild  word — farewell. ' 

Byron.     The  Corsair. 

As  the  time  drew  near  for  Adrian  to  leave,  the 
brethren  continued  to  grow  more  lavish  in  their 
kindnesses  and  attentions,  crowning  the  series  of 
festivities  with  a  banquet  in  honor  of  the  young 
couple,  on  the  night  before  he  was  to  take  his 
departure.  It  was  a  brilliant  affair.  The  old 
assembly  hall,  across  the  street  from  the  Octagon 
House,  never  looked  so  inviting. 

Cut  flowers  for  this  occasion  were  sent  from 
the  hot-houses  of  Zion.  There  were  two  long 
tables  extending  almost  the  entire  length  of  the 
room,  laden  with  everything  that  could  be  pro- 
cured, which  would  tempt  the  appetite  of  the 
most  fastidious  epicure.  The  tables  were  dec- 
orated with  the  choicest  cut  flowers,  twined  in 
wreaths  of  smilax  and  English  ivy.  There  was 
a  large  arch  at  each  end  of  the  tables,  reaching 
from  one  to  the  other.  These  arches  were  cov- 
ered with  evergreens;  extending  from  one  arch 
to  the  other,  were  many  wreaths  of  smilax  fas- 
tened in  the  center  to  a  large  chandelier  which 
was  raised  near  the  ceiling.  Swinging  beneath 
the  arch  at  the  head  of  the  table  on  a  small  white 
322 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  323 

banner,  were  the  words,  "Dedicated  to  Adrian," 
in  gold  letters;  and  a  similar  banner  swung  from 
the  arch  at  the  foot  of  the  tables,  with  the  words 
*' Dedicated  to  Lola,"  in  silver  letters.  From 
beneath  the  chandelier,  under  the  beautiful 
awning  of  smilax,  hung  a  large  blue  silken  ban- 
ner on  which  was  stamped  a  large  silver  star. 
Above  the  star  was  the  word  "Utah's,"  while 
immediately  beneath  the  star  was  the  word  "Lib- 
erty." The  windows  were  draped  with  beauti- 
ful, filmy  lace  curtains,  which  were  decorated 
with  cut  flowers  and  English  ivy,  while  wreaths 
of  the  same  were  festooned  from  one  window  to 
the  other,  extending  around  the  room.  Rare 
potted  plants  filled  the  nooks  and  comers  of  the 
great  room,  on  which  numbers  of  bright  lights 
shone,  while  under  the  dazzling  light,  amid  the 
beautiful  flowers  and  leaves,  breathing  their 
sweet  perfume,  were  young  women  and  girls 
dressed  in  white,  young  men  and  boys  dressed  in 
dark  pants,  white  sailor  waists  and  white  caps, 
while  strains  of  music  from  the  two  orchestras 
filled  the  air.  The  young  men  and  women  were 
waiters,  who  stood  in  groups  gaily  talking  and 
laughing;  while  occasionally,  as  the  door  chanced 
to  be  opened,  came  the  odor  of  steaming  coffee 
and  oyster  soup  from  the  room  in  the  rear. 

At  ten  o'clock  all  was  in  readiness,  and  the 
guests,  two  hundred  in  number,  arrived  at  the 
door.  The  doors  were  opened  and  the  party, 
headed  by  Adrian  and  Lola,  filed  through  and 


324  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

passed  down  the  center  between  the  tables,  fol- 
lowed by  the  leading  dignitaries  from  the  Utah 
Stake,  and  a  number  from  Zion,  then  their  par- 
ents and  Willy.  When  they  reached  the  end  of 
the  tables  at  the  back  of  the  church,  Adrian  and 
Lola  turned  to  the  right,  the  next  couple  to  the 
left,  and  so  marching  to  the  time  of  music,  until 
Adrian  and  Lola  reached  the  head  of  the  table 
on  the  right.  Their  parents  and  Willy  were  the 
last  to  enter  the  building,  bringing  them  to  the 
table  at  Adrian's  left.  The  brethren  all  brought 
their  legal  wives,  except  Blatherskite,  who  was 
accompanied  by  Zina,  "The  Divine,"  who  was 
looking  her  loveliest  on  this  special  occasion;  she 
was  dressed  in  a  bright  pink  satin  dress,  trimmed 
with  black  lace  and  black  velvet  ribbon,  bodice 
cut  decollette,  which  showed  her  bonny,  buxom 
arms  and  shoulders  to  great  advantage.  She  and 
her  gracious  husband  occupied  the  head  of  the 
table  at  the  left.  The  rest  of  the  women  were 
dressed  neatly  and  becomingly.  Lola  was 
dressed,  as  she  usually  was  on  such  occasions,  in 
white.  Joy  beamed  from  every  face,  except 
those  who  sat  at  the  head  of  the  right-hand  table. 
Both  Adrian  and  Lola  were  silent  and  sad;  they 
were  thinking  how  soon  they  were  to  be  separ- 
ated for  a  long,  long  time.  The  glittering  ban- 
quet had  no  charms  for  Lola ;  she  could  not  help 
thinking  that  all  of  this  display  of  kindness  and 
good  feelings,  was  simply  a  veneering  on  the  sur- 
face, to   hide   the   hypocrisy   and  unadulterated 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  325 

infamy  of  the  priesthood.  She  felt  that  the 
kisses  impressed  upon  her  lips  by  such  creatures 
as  Zina,  were  much  like  that  of  Judas  of  old.  She 
thought  as  she  looked  around  over  the  glittering 
display,  '*Is  it  possible  that  twelve  long  months 
have  rolled  around,  since  the  brethren  of  this 
stake  have  taken  human  life?  Yes,  by  the  grace 
of  Jed ;  and  strange  as  it  is,  the  dear  one,  whom 
they  last  sought  to  destroy,  is  now  the  honored 
guest  and  is  soon  to  do  mission  work  for  the  con- 
temptible organization  according  to  the  divine 
revelations.  I  hope  it  is  for  the  best;  but  alas! 
I  have  my  doubts  and  fears."  She  thought  of 
all  that  had  transpired  at  Blatherskite's  office, 
the  last  time  she  met  the  prophet.  During  all 
this  meditation,  she  ate  very  little  and  was  silent. 
She  scarcely  seemed  to  realize  what  was  going 
on  around  her,  when  she  raised  her  eyes  and 
beheld,  for  the  first  time,  the  banner  with  the 
inscription,  ''Utah's  it  Liberty."  She  knew  that 
the  one  thing  above  all  others  which  the  Saints 
desired,  was  Statehood  for  Utah,  that  they  might 
have  the  privilege  of  placing  that  star  in  the  gal- 
axy on  the  Banner  of  Freedom.  The  first  thought 
which  struck  her,  when  she  saw  the  banner,  was, 
"If  this  star  should  appear  on  Freedom's  Ban- 
ner, thus  giving  the  power  of  a  State  into  the 
hands  of  our  people,  in  addition  to  the  power  of 
the  church  organization,  it  will  greatly  assist 
them  in  their  nefarious  work  of  degrading  all 
who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  come  in  contact  with 


326  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

the  lecherous  teachings  of  the  plurality  and  its 
consequences. ' ' 

As  these  thoughts  passed  through  her  mind,  the 
sight  of  the  banner  and  its  emblem  shocked  her, 
and  she  said  to  herself,  ''Oh,  what  a  monstrous 
contradiction!"  She  leaned  back;  at  first,  she 
could  see  the  word  above  and  the  word  below  the 
star — they  glimmered — she  was  dazed — the  star 
only  was  visible  to  her;  then,  as  if  by  magic,  two 
words  appeared  above  the  star,  making  it  read, 
"THE  FALSE  *.  "  Now,  the  star  was  as  black 
as  midnight  darkness.  "O,  Heavens!"  What 
does  it  mean?"  she  said  to  herself.  ''It  is  like 
the  handwriting  on  the  wall  at  Belshazzar's 
feast."  She  drooped  her  head  and  closed  her 
eyes;  but  in  a  moment  she  involuntarily  turned 
her  glances  toward  the  banner;  "THE  FALSE 
STAR"  was  plainer  than  before.  " 'Tis  true! 
'Tis  true!"  she  cried  aloud  and  started  to  fall 
from  her  chair,  as  Adrian  caught  her. 

In  answer  to  the  many  inquiries  as  to  the  cause 
of  her  ailing,  after  she  had  recovered,  she 
answered : — 

* '  Oh,  I  am  so  worried. ' ' 

Her  mother  was  then  by  her  side,  and  said : — 

"Adrian  is  going  away  so  soon  that  she  is  much 
worried,  and  can  scarcely  stand  the  ordeal  of  tell- 
ing him  good-bye." 

The  deepest  sympathy  was  expressed  upon  all 
sides.  Presently  Lehman  came  nearer,  and  said : — 

"I  would  it  were  different;  but  the  time  will 
not  be  long  for  you  to  await  his  return. " 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  327 

**  Perhaps  the  time  seems  short  to  you,  but  to 
me  it  seems  an  age." 

All  went  merry  and  gay  again.  Lola  had 
brightened  up  somewhat,  and  tried  to  dispel  the 
gloom  from  her  mind.  She  did  not  look  at  the 
banner  again,  but  the  emblem  with  the  words 
above,  haunted  her  mind. 

There  were  several  after-dinner  speeches;  but 
Lola's  mind  failed  to  take  note  of  anything  which 
was  said,  except  when  reference  was  made  to  the 
departure  of  "our  dear  brother,  who  will  start  on 
the  morrow  to  the  glorious  mission  field. "  Bron- 
son,  who  had  just  been  promoted  to  the  bishopric, 
referred  to  the  banner,  saying: — 

"My  brethren,  I  see,  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
mirth  and  gaity,  a  beautiful  banner  which  bears 
upon  it  a  motto  and  a  suggestive  emblem.  It 
reads,  'Utah's  Star,  LIBERTY.'  It  is  the  most 
beautiful  banner  that  I  have  ever  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  seeing,  and  it  certainly  bears  an  appropri- 
ate motto.  Correctly  interpreted,  it  means,  when 
Utah's  star  shall  be  placed  upon  the  American 
flag,  it  will  bring  liberty  and  happiness  to  the 
chosen  people  of  God.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
that  it  shall  be  the  brightest  star  in  the  whole 
constellation,  and  according  to  the  assurances  we 
have  from  Washington,  it  will  be  placed  there  at 
the  next  session  of  Congress." 

Lola  caught  every  word  on  this  subject.  At 
the  mention  of  the  star,  the  vision  she  had  had 
of  it  flashed  through  her  mind;    and  when   he 


328  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

referred  to  its  advent  upon  the  American  flag 
bringing  liberty  to  the  chosen  people  of  God,  she 
said  to  herself:  *'It  will  bring  freedom  from 
persecutions  of  the  crimes  committed  by  the  so- 
called  chosen  people ;  but  they  cannot  escape  the 
punishment  of  a  just  God. " 

It  was  growing  late  when  Bronson  closed. 
Prayer  was  then  offered,  and  all  bade  Adrian 
good-bye  and  gave  him  their  blessing. 

It  was  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  Lola 
reached  her  private  room.  Adrian  was  to  start 
at  eight,  in  order  to  take  the  train  from  Zion, 
that  evening,  to  New  York,  from  which  place  he 
would  embark  for  Liverpool.  He  had  just  left, 
to  try  to  rest  a  short  while  before  starting.  Lola 
walked  the  floor  almost  distracted.  She  thought 
of  all  the  ill  treatment  that  she  and  Adrian  had 
received  at  the  hands  of  the  brethren.  In  this 
frame  of  mind,  she  looked  upon  their  everj^  act 
of  kindness  as  a  new  design  preparatory  to  doing 
them  greater  injuries.  Her  whole  nature  now 
rebelled  against  the  priesthood.  Amid  her  con- 
fused thoughts  of  how  they  had  treated  herself 
and  Adrian,  of  scenes  of  their  immorality,  of 
crimes  committed  in  the  name  of  religion  and  of 
Adrian's  early  departure,  came  the  remembrance 
of  the  banner  with  the  strange  device.  Presently 
she  said:  ''This  great  republic,  which  has  been 
dedicated  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  eleva- 
tion of  mankind,  certainly  will  not  permit  this  star 
to  become  a  blot  upon  her  sacred  flag." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  329 

Her  mind  then  turned  to  Adrian.  She  tried  to 
be  composed,  but  consciousness  of  wrongs 
already  done  them,  the  dread  of  something  evil 
yet  in  store  for  her,  when  Adrian  was  gone,  filled 
her  with  a  revolting  spirit  which  she  could  not 
overcome.  Thus  the  hours  wore  away,  until 
almost  time  for  Adrian  to  take  his  leave,  when 
she  dressed  herself  and  went  down-stairs.  The 
color  had  left  her  face,  except  the  tinge  of  red 
about  the  eyes.  Breakfast  was  scarcely  tasted 
by  a  member  of  the  family.  All  wore  a  look  of 
suppressed  grief  and  had  little  to  say. 

The  carriages  were  at  the  door,  the  time  had 
come  for  Adrian  to  leave  his  old  home.  He 
glanced  around  the  place,  as  if  taking  a  last  look 
at  the  things  that  were  so  dear  to  him.  On  reach- 
ing the  carriage,  which  was  drawn  by  his  own 
team,  Jed  holding  the  lines  and  Willy  by  his  side, 
he  went  to  his  horses,  patting  them  gently  on  the 
head  and  smoothing  their  silken  manes,  said  some- 
thing in  a  low  tone  to  them;  then  turning  to 
Jed  he  said:  '*I  surrender  the  care  of  these 
noble  and  faithful  animals  to  you,  Jed.  They 
have  done  me  faithful  service,  especially  in  our 
fearful  race  with  the  lions.  Give  them  the  same 
tender  care  which  1  have  always  g^ven  them. ' ' 

He  then  stepped  into  the  carriage  with  Lola. 

She  had  been  watching  him  with  tears  in  her 
eyes,  and  heard  his  words  to  Jed.  The  parents 
were  already  seated  in  their  carriage  which  was 
a  little  in   advance.     The    last    moments   were 


330  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

Spent  in  words  of  love,  vowing  to  be  true  to 
each  other  so  long  as  life  should  last. 

At  the  station  he  bade  his  friends  good-bye, 
then  Willy  and  Jed,  next  the  parents,  holding 
his  mother  in  his  arms  and  kissing  her  tear- 
stained  cheeks,  telling  her  that  the  time  would 
not  be  long  before  he  would  return.  Taking 
Lola's  arm,  they  walked  to  the  edge  of  the  plat- 
form, near  the  door  of  the  stage  coach;  after 
talking  for  a  few  moments  in  a  low  tone,  he 
kissed  her  good-bye  and  stepped  into  the  coach. 
The  driver  closed  the  door  behind  him,  mounted 
his  box  and  drove  away. 

Lola  stood  white  and  motionless,  gazing  after 
him.  Willy  approached  her  and  took  her  by 
the  arm,  saying:  "Cheer  up,  sister  dear;  Adrian 
will  write  to  you  often,  and  I  will  be  such  a  good 
brother  while  he  is  gone,  that  the  time  will  not 
seem  so  long." 

He  led  her  to  their  carriage,  and,  seating  him- 
self by  her  side,  they  were  driven  home.  When 
they  reached  home,  Lola  was  completely  prostrate 
with  grief,  and  was  borne  into  the  house  where 
she  was  confined  to  her  bed  for  almost  a  week. 
For  a  time  it  seemed  that  the  light  of  her  exist- 
ence had  gone  out 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Three  months  had  passed  since  Adrian  left,  and 
no  news  had  been  received  from  him,  except  a 
short  note  to  Lola,  written  as  he  boarded  the 
ship  at  New  York.  He  had  promised  to  write 
the  moment  he  arrived  at  Liverpool  and  had 
learned  where  he  would  be  located  in  his  work. 
This  expected  letter  should  have  reached  home 
about  six  weeks  after  his  departure.  He  was 
to  send  them  his  address  at  his  earliest  conven- 
ience, in  order  that  he  could  hear  from  home. 

They  began  to  grow  anxious  over  his  long 
silence.  Lola's  heart  was  almost  broken.  She 
prayed  day  after  day  for  some  news  from  her 
loved  one.  As  yet,  the  actions  of  the  brethren 
had  been  kind  to  all,  which  was  somewhat  of  a 
surprise  to  Lola,  who  doubted  their  sincerity. 

The  Allison  family  were  spending  the  evening 
with  the  Walthams,  and  they  were  trying  to  con- 
sole each  other  in  their  grief  and  disappointment, 
arising  from  the  fact  that  nothing  had  been 
heard  from  Adrian,  when  a  knock  was  heard  at 
the  door. 

Lola  stepped  into  the  hall  and  opened  the  door, 
when  to  her  surprise,  she  saw  Bishop  Lehman 
standing  there,  holding  a  letter  in  his  hand.  He 
wore  a  sad  and  depressed  look,  through  which 
Lola  imagined  she  could  see  hypocrisy  lurking. 

331 


332  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Good  evening,  Brother  Lehman,"  said  she. 
*'Will  you  walk  into  the  sitting-room  where  the 
folks  are?" 

'*Yes,  I  wish  to  see  Brother  and  Sister  Wal- 
tham.     I  have  sad  news  for  them, ' '  he  said. 

His  words  pierced  each  heart  like  an  arrow,  as 
all  in  the  room  heard  what  he  had  said  to  Lola. 

**0  Brother  Lehman!  Is  it  ill  news  from 
Adrian?"  asked  Lola,  excitedly. 

**Yes,  I  regret  to  say  that  it  is." 

**What  can  it  be?"  came  from  white  lips,  as 
they  all  arose  to  meet  him. 

**I  am  deeply  pained,  yes,  grieved  beyond 
measure,  that  I  am  compelled  to  convey  the  sad 
intelligence  of  Adrian's  death!" 

Never  did  words  bring  greater  grief  to  mortals. 
The  scene  was  one  of  sorrow  and  lamenting. 
After  a  time,  Lola  was  seized  with  the  idea  that 
she  could  read  treachery  in  his  words  and  actions ; 
yet  she  feared  he  spoke  the  truth.  Then  look- 
ing him  in  the  face,  she  said  with  a  firm  voice": — 

"Did  you  say  Adrian  is  dead?"  Every  word 
sounded  like  an  accusation. 

Lehman  hesitated,  then  answered:  "Yes;  he 
died  at  sea." 

"I  don't  believe  it." 

"Your  words  are  strange — yes,  strange.  Take 
this  letter  and  read  for  yourself.  * ' 

He  handed  her  the  letter.  She  removed  it 
from  the  envelope  and  read: — 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  333 

** Headquarters,  European  Mission  of 
The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints, 

Liverpool,  England,  July  5th,  1871. 
Francis  Lehman,  Bishop, 
I  Provo  City,  Utah. 

I  My  Dear  Brother: — 

i  I  am  compelled  to  report  to  you,  and  through 
you  to  the  holy  church,  that  Brother  Adrian 
Waltham,  who  boarded  an  ocean  steamer  of  the 
White  Star  line  at  New  York,  bound  for.  Liver- 
pool, as  a  missionary,  died  on  the  voyage  and 
was  interred  at  sea.  Cause  of  death,  small-pox. 
Disease  contracted  before  boarding  the  ship. 
The  captain  of  the  vessel  delivered  to  me  all  of 
his  papers  and  credentials  and  what  cash  he  had 
on  hand.  All  of  his  other  personal  effects,  in- 
cluding clothing,  were  sunk  in  the  sea,  in  order  to 
comply  with  the  sanitary  regulations,  in  cases  of 
this  character,  owing  to  liability  of  contagion. 
It  gives  me  pain  to  make  this  sad  report,  espe- 
cially on  account  of  his  relatives  and  friends  who 
will  be  most  grieved,  because  of  the  great  loss 
we  have  all  sustained. 

You  will  also  convey  the  sad  news  to  his 
relatives  and  friends. 

The  mission  work  is  progressing  well.  We 
are  making  many  converts  to  the  true  way.  The 
English  people  are  sadly  in  need  of  a  religion 
to  lift  them  from  their  degraded  condition.  I 
pray  constantly  for  increased  success. 

Your  brother  in  the  cause, 

Parley  VanCannon. 
In   charge    of  headquarters  of  the  European 
Mission. ' ' 

None  doubted  the  news  but  Lola.  She  could 
not  receive  it  as  being  true.  After  some  mo- 
ments' reflection,  she  asked:— 


334  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

**Is  this  all  the  proof  you  have  of  his  death?" 
*'This  is  all,"  answered  Lehman.     **Is  it  not 
quantum  sufficit?" 

** Ordinarily,  yes;  but  why  did  Brother  VanCan- 
non  report  to  you,  instead  of  Adrian's  bishop?" 
*' Verily,  I  do  not  know." 
**That   would  be   the  proper  channel,    would 
it  not?" 

"Yes,  I  rather  think  it  would." 
"To  report  to  you  is  irregular?" 
"Hem — hem — well,  yes,  a  little  irregular." 
"Who  told  VanCannon  to  report  to  you?*' 
"I  don't  know.     It  was  according  to  his  own 
dictation,  I  presume. ' ' 

"Such  a  dictation  was  never  known  before?" 
"Well,  ah,  I — not  to  my  knowledge.  " 
"Does  the  head  mission  often  send  letters  of 
such  importance  in  irregular  channels?" 

Lehman  did  not  answer  but  seemed  much  irri- 
tated.    After  waiting  a  few  moments,  Lola  said : — 
"That  is  all."  ..  ...     . 

Then  Lehman  took  his  departure,  after  having 
conversed  with  Adrian's  parents  for  a  few  mo- 
ments. He  felt  somewhat  chagrined  over  the 
way  the  conversation  had  turned.  After  he  was 
gone,  Mrs.  Waltham  asked  Lola: — 

"Why  did  you  doubt  the  report,  Lola,  and 
question  him  so  closely  concerning  it?" 

"Because  I  didn't  believe  him.  I  have  grown 
to  doubt  everything  the  leaders  say.  This  seems 
to  have  become  a  second  nature  with  me.  '* 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  335 

**Dear  daughter,  I  fear  you  are  misjudging  our 
dignitaries, ' '  said  her  mother. 

*'0  mamma,  when  you  are  stung  by  their  per- 
secution as  keenly  as  I  have  been,  you  will  doubt 
them,  too,  and  will  come  to  the  conclusion  as  I 
have,  that  hypocrisy  and  teachery  constitute 
their  real  character.  The  only  evidence  to  me 
of  Adrian's  death,  is  the  fact  that  we  have  not 
heard  from  him.  The  head  of  the  mission,  like 
the  leaders,  would  falsify  when  the  truth  would 
serve  as  well.  Of  course,  I  would  much  prefer 
we  had  not  heard  this  news,  even  from  this 
unreliable  source.  This  letter  adds  very  little  to 
my  grief;  for  I  was  grief  stricken  already,  be- 
cause of  not  having  heard  from  him.  My  grief 
is  as  great  as  I  can  bear.  I  would  much  prefer 
death,  than  to  know  beyond  a  doubt  that  he  is 
dead.  Why  should  one  so  true,  so  noble,  and 
brave,  be  taken  from  us!  Dead!  I  will  not 
believe  it !  He,  whom  I  love  so  devotedly,  shall 
yet  be  mine ;  though  the  clouds  of  despair  hang 
heavily  above  me,  yet  will  I  stand  by  the  side  of 
Adrian — his  bride. ' ' 

As  she  uttered  these  words  there  was  such  a 
look  of  sorrow  on  her  face,  that  they  all  felt 
alarmed,  for  fear  that  her  reason  was  leaving 
her.  The  days  wore  on  and  still  there  was  no 
cessation  to  her  grief.  The  summer  days  were 
passed.  The  golden  autumn  came  and  went. 
Softly  fell  the  leaves  and  flowers  to  the  grave. 
The  song  birds  had  gone  away.     These,  all  of 


33^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

these,  reminded  the  broken-hearted  girl  of 
perished  hopes ;  all  happiness  in  the  world  seemed 
to  have  flown.  The  bright  rays  of  sunshine, 
prophesied  by  the  divines,  vanished  like  a  phan- 
tom, and  her  once  happy  days  lived  only  in  mem- 
ory as  a  pleasant  dream. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Soon  after  receiving  the  news  of  Adrian's  death, 
the  brethren  presented  a  bill  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  to  Messrs.  Waltham  and  Allison  for  cut 
flowers,  used  in  the  banquet  the  evening  before 
Adrian's  departure.  The  saintly  leaders  argued 
that  the  money  was  spent  in  honor  of  their  chil- 
dren, and  that  now,  the  church  would  lose  the 
benefit  of  his  labors,  because  of  his  death ;  there- 
fore, they  should  pay  the  bills  contracted  for  the 
splendid  banquet. 

Mr.  Waltham  explained  that,  prior  to  Adrian's 
leaving,  he  (Mr.  Waltham)  had  given  Adrian  one 
thousand  dollars  for  the  development  of  his  min- 
ing prospects,  and  that  he  could  get  nothing  at 
present  from  that  source;  also,  that  he  had  given 
him  another  thousand  dollars  when  he  started,  to 
defray  his  expenses,  and  that,  at  present,  he 
hadn't  much  ready  cash  by  him;  but  the  priest- 
hood answered  that  he  could  borrow  his  share.  Mr. 
Waltham  then  suggested  that  the  money,  which 
was  turned  over  by  the  captain  of  the  ship  to  the 
head  of  the  mission  at  Liverpool,  be  turned  on 
this  bill.  The  brethren  answered  this  suggestion 
by  stating  that,  as  Brother  Adrian  was  going 
to  spend  it  in  mission  work,  they  had  simply 
turned  it  into  the  mission  fund.  Upon  this  ex- 
planation as  to  what  was  done  with  Adrian's 
money  at  his  death,  they  refused  absolutely  tp 
337 


338  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

pay  the  bill,  adding  further,  that  if  they  had 
known  that  the  bills  were  to  fall  on  them,  there 
would  have  been  no  banquet.  The  invisible 
hand  began  to  move;  the  pressure  became  so 
great  that  they  paid  the  bill  in  order  to  avoid,  as 
they  supposed,  greater  troubles. 

It  took  all  of  Mr.  Allison's  ready  cash,  and  com- 
pelled Mr.  Waltham  to  place  a  mortgage  on  his 
farm. 

No  sooner  was  this  extortion  satisfied,  than 
another  bill  of  the  same  amount  was  presented 
for  the  edibles  used  on  the  same  occasion.  Again 
a  protest  was  raised,  on  the  grounds  that  the  pro- 
visions had  been  donated  by  individuals,  they 
among  the  rest,  and  not  furnished  by  the  church. 
The  ready  answer  was  that  the  good  things  were 
donated  to  the  church,  and  not  to  the  Allisons  and 
Walthams.  Finally,  seeing  no  other  alternative, 
they  sacrificed  the  greater  portion  of  their  per- 
sonal property  at  forced  sale  prices  and  paid  it, 
thinking  this  certainly  would  be  the  last.  The 
brilliant  banquet  furnished  a  good  pretense  for 
the  brethren  to  bleed  them  and  to  rob  them  of  their 
honest  possessions.  Again  another  bill  for 
twelve  hundred  dollars  was  presented,  for  cigars, 
beer,  wines,  and  liquors,  and  the  expense  of  lights 
used  on  the  occasion.  The  persecuted  families 
denounced  this  as  the  crowning  infamy,  after 
being  forced  to  pay  two  other  outrageous  bills. 
They  refused  to  pay,  and  stood  a  trial  on  the  ques- 
tion in  the  bishop's  court,  and  lost.     They  ap- 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  339 

pealed  to  the  high  council,  where  they  lost.  They 
then  appealed  to  the  highest  authorities,  and 
again  they  lost ;  the  decisions  having  been  a  fore- 
gone conclusion  from  the  beginning.  They  now 
had  to  pay  the  bill  with  a  little  the  rise  of  twelve 
hundred  dollars  added  as  costs.  Each  was  com- 
pelled to  mortgage  his  home  to  raise  the  money. 
When  the  banquet  ceased  to  be  a  pretense  for 
the  brethren  to  extort  money  from  them,  they 
laid  an  extra  burden  in  the  form  of  tithing, 
amounting  to  about  four  hundred  dollars  apiece. 
They  sacrificed  all  the  remaining  personal  prop- 
erty they  had,  except  a  wagon  and  team,  and  a 
cow,  to  each  family,  and  their  household  goods. 

The  notes,  secured  by  the  mortgages  on  their 
homes,  to  pay  the  last  bill  of  the  banquet  and 
the  costs,  fell  due.  They  could  not  refund  and 
secure  time,  for  the  chosen  would  not  carry  them 
longer.  They  lost  their  lands  and  homes,  which 
were  worth  five  times  the  amount  of  the  incum- 
brances; yet,  there  were  deficiency  judgments 
against  each,  which  took  even  their  household 
goods  to  pay.  Thus,  these  families  were  reduced, 
in  two  years  and  a  half  from  the  time  Adrian  left 
home,  from  affluence,  to  poverty  and  want ;  nor 
did  their  troubles  cease  here. 

About  this  time,  the  United  States  authorities 
began  to  investigate  many  of  the  crimes  which 
had  been  committed  throughout  the  region  of 
Zion.  The  statehood,  which  the  brethren  had 
worked  so  hard  to  secure,  after  the  remarks  of  Mr, 


34©  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Colfax,  and  upon  which  the  anointed  had  doted 
so  much,  was  defeated  by  a  hair's  breadth  in  1872. 

The  chief  crime  that  was  now  being  investi- 
gated was  the  Mountain  Meadow  massacre. 
Phillip  Klingensmith,  a  bishop  of  the  Saints,  had 
assisted  in  the  terrible  butchery,  and,  because  of 
his  great  remorse  of  conscience,  he  now  became  a 
witness  for  the  government,  and  was  at  the  Gar- 
den City  in  attendance  on  the  grand  jury. 

Mrs.  Ann  E.  Hoge  was  also  a  witness  for  the 
government.  She  had  just  been  before  the  jury, 
and  had  testified  that  she  was  present  at  a  high 
council  meeting  of  the  Saints,  when  it  was 
decided  to  murder  the  emigrants,  because  of  the 
hatred  they  bore  for  all  people  who  were  not  of 
their  faith,  and  further,  because  of  the  great 
amount  of  property  they  could  obtain  as  booty. 

During  the  course  of  Klingensmith 's  testimony 
before  the  grand  jury,  he  said  among  other  asser- 
tions : — 

"Yes,  there  were  seventeen  little  children  kept 
alive;  sweet,  innocent,  charming  infants  too 
young  to  remember  the  awful'  scenes.  One  of 
them,  a  little  girl,  was  particularly  beautiful — ah ! 
sirs,  the  sweetest  being  I  ever  saw!  The  other 
sixteen  children  were,  afterward,  sent  back  to 
friends  in  the  States,  but  this  one  was  kept  here. ' ' 

"You  say  that  tlie  one  that  was  not  sent  back 
to  friends  was  a  girl?"  was  asked. 

"That  is  right;  a  little  girl  of  three  and  one- 
half  years." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  34I 

''But  Mrs.  Hoge  says  the  child  was  a  boy,  and 
appeared  to  remember  something  of  the  scenes, 
afterward,  and  was  killed  by  John  D.  Lee.  Is 
this  true?" 

"She  evidently  believes  such  to  have  been  the 
case;  but  she  is  mistaken.  It  was  a  little  girl, 
and  I  pled  so  hard  for  her,  after  she  was  separated 
from  the  other  children,  that  she  was  given  to  me. 
When  we  raised  the  white  flag,  as  a  decoy  to  the 
emigrants,  indicating  that  we  had  come  to  their 
rescue,  they  answered  our  signal  by  raising  this 
little  baby  girl,  dressed  in  white,  above  their 
heads.  It  was  the  sweetest,  purest,  and  most 
appealing  sight  I  ever  witnessed.  My  heart 
almost  failed  me  in  the  bloody  work  we  were 
entering  upon.  I  would  have  turned  and  fought 
for  the  emigrants,  then  and  there,  but  I  dared 
not.  I  took  the  lovely  child  and  hoped  to  raise  it 
as  my  own ;  but  alas !  circumstances  arose,  soon 
afterward,  which  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  do 
so;  but  I  was  determined  to  save  the  life  of  the 
child.  I  then  took  it  far  away  to  Logan ;  there  I 
sought  an  old  friend,  hoping  to  get  her  to  take  it 
as  a  charge  for  me,  but  was  refused.  I  claimed 
the  child  as  my  own;  I  did  not  know,  then,  that 
the  children  would  ever  be  recovered  by  their 
friends.  There  was  a  good  family  living  there 
at  this  time,  by  the  name  of  Allison.  On  my 
agreeing  to  renounce  all  claim  to  her  whatever, 
they  adopted  her  as  their  own  child.  To  this 
day,  they  do  not  know  that  she  passed  through 


342  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

that  awful  scene,  and  that  her  mother,  the  most 
beautiful  woman  I  ever  beheld,  was  murdered  by 
John  D.  Lee,  while  she  was  on  her  knees  before 
him,  pleading  for  mercy,  with  this  child  in  her 
arms.  Yes,  the  good  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allison 
adopted  her,  and  gave  her  the  name,  Lola  Allison. 
A  short  time  afterward  they  removed  from  Logan 
to  this  town,  and  here  they  have  resided  ever 
since.  I  did  not  know  whether  the  child  could 
be  taken  from  the  Allisons  or  not,  at  the  time 
they  took  the  other  children  back ;  but  I  thought 
she  could  not,  as  the  Probate  court  had  decreed 
her  to  them,  believing  her  my  daughter;  hence, 
I  kept  still,  and  the  Allisons  have  never  dreamed 
that  their  adopted  daughter  was  a  member  of  the 
ill-fated  train. ' ' 

This  evidence  was  a  great  surprise  to  some 
members  of  the  jury.  One  of  the  members  of  the 
grand  jury  was  a  kind  of  a  hickory  Mormon,  yet 
claimed  to  be  a  Gentile.  The  rest  of  the  grand 
jury  were  all  Gentiles.  This  particular  member 
of  the  jury  was  a  friend  of  Bishop  Lehman's, 
although  all  the  members  of  the  grand  jury 
were  sworn  to  secrecy,  as  to  everything  which 
transpired  in  the  grand  jury  room,  as  provided  by 
the  statute,  yet,  as  soon  as  the  jury  took  a  recess, 
the  friend  of  Lehman  went  to  him  and  gave  him 
the  complete  text  of  Klingensmith's  evidence 
with  reference  to  Lola's  origin. 

Lehman  grasped  the  situation  fully  at  once,  and 
determined  to  turn  the  evidence  to  suit  his  pur- 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  343 

pose.  He  summoned  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allison  to  his 
office  at  seven  in  the  evening,  where  he  asked  the 
following  questions: — 

*'Do  you  know  all  about  Lola's  origin?" 

**Yes,  perfectly  well,"  answered  Mr.  Allison. 

**I  thought  so;  hence,  I  determined  to  warn 
you  against  trouble  and  danger.  ** 

'*  Against  trouble  and  danger?  I  do  not  under- 
stand you.  * ' 

"Well,  I  mean  just  what  I  say, — ^yes,  just  what 
I  say.  The  traitorous  Klingensmith  has  just 
been  before  the  grand  jury,  as  you  know,  and  he 
has  told  all  about  it." 

**What  of  that?  Why  should  that  give  us 
trouble  or  place  us  in  danger?  We  simply 
adopted  his  child." 

"There  is  where  you  are  mistaken.  Lola  was 
not  his  child ;  hence  all  your  probate  proceedings 
are  null  and  void.  She  is  a  child  of  parents  who 
shed  their  blood  as  an  atonement,  on  the  sacred 
field  of  Mountain  Meadow — which  this  infamous 
grand  jury  calls  a  massacre. " 

"O  horrors!  Merciful  God!  Can  it  be  true?" 
cried  Mrs.  Allison,  wringing  her  hands  in  agony, 
while  Mr.  Allison  sat  in  speechless  amazement. 

"Verily,  'tis  true,  and  this  old  reprobate, 
Klingensmith,  has  further  testified  before  this 
jury  that  you  were  both  knowing  to  everything, 
and  that  you.  Brother  Allison,  was  a  member  of 
the  gang  who  killed  the  emigrants  and  that  you 
hid  the  child  away  when  the  other  children  were 


344  THE    FALSE    STAR, 

being  gathered  up  to  be  taken  back  to  the  States. 
You  have  both  been  indicted.  You,  Brother 
Allison,  for  murder,  and  you.  Sister  Allison,  as 
accessory.  You  will  both  be  arrested  with  the 
opening  of  court  on  the  morrow — yes,  on  the 
morrow.  You  have  just  confessed  to  me  that 
you  knew  all  about  her  origin — yes,  her  origin." 

These  last  words  were  uttered  with  an  exulting 
gleam  in  his  countenance.  For  some  moments, 
the  bewildered  and  astonished  pair  scarcely  knew 
what  they  were  doing.  Presently  Mrs.  Allison 
said : — 

*'We  knew  nothing  of  such  a  history!  O  dear 
husband!     What  shall  we  do?     This  is  terrible ! " 

**I  do  not  know!  We  are  not  guilty!  We 
never  wronged  any  one  in  our  lives!'*  answered 
Mr.  Allison  with  much  emotion. 

"This  may  be  very  true;  but  remember  that 
you  have  confessed  to  me  that  you  knew  her 
origin — yes,  that  you  knew  her  origin,"  ejacu- 
lated the  bishop. 

"Would  you  have  the  audacity  to  turn  what  we 
have  said,  as  a  confession  of  guilt,  sir?"  demanded 
Mr.  Allison. 

' '  Except  you  do  as  I  say,  yes ;  but  go  according 
to  my  instructions  and  I  will  see  you  clear — yes, 
clear. ' ' 

"Well,  what  do  you  suggest?"  asked  Mr. 
Allison. 

"Turn  the  girl  over  to  me  this  night.  I  will 
get  her  away  before  she  finds  out  her  origin.     You 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  345 

go  to  my  large  ranch  below  St.  George,  and  stay- 
there  ;  run  the  ranch  as  if  it  were  your  own,  until 
I  tell  you  to  return.  Talk  not;  know  nothing. 
I  will  care  for  Lola  well,  and  keep  her  safely 
until  she  promises  to  be  my  sixth  bride ;  then  I 
will  have  you  meet  us  at  the  temple  at  St. 
George,  which  is  nearing  completion,  and  I  will 
wed  her  there ;  and  then  the  world  can  crack  its 
whip.  Give  your  consent  and  I  will  do  the  rest 
— yes,  I  will  do  the  rest." 

*'I  will  die  before  I  will  be  a  party  to  the  bring- 
ing of  Lola  into  a  relationship  which  I  know  to  be 
so  distasteful  to  her,"  said  Mr.  Allison,  in  a  deter- 
mined manner. 

*'And  I  am  with  you,"  said  his  wife. 

"Then  I  put  the  officers  after  you  this  hour, — 
yes,  this  hour.  With  Klingensmith's  evidence  and 
mine  to  back  it  as  to  your  confessions,  together 
with  the  circumstance  of  your  having  smuggled 
the  child,  will  make  a  case  which  will  swing  you 
both!  No  doubt  about  it — yes,  no  doubt  about 
it!" 

After  a  few  minutes*  silence,  Mr.  Allison  asked 
in  a  solemn  voice : — 

**Are  there  no  other  terms?" 

** Verily,  there. are  no  other." 

"Wife,  shall  we  accept  or  die?" 

"Let  us  die,  j^i  there  is  no  other  alternative.  I 
will  never  consent  to  give  the  child  to  other  than 
her  liking.  I  love  her  as  if  she  were  my  own 
flesh  and  blood.      A  better  child  than  she  has 


346  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

been,  never  lived — earth  never  saw  her  superior; 
and  I  know  well,  that  she  would  rather  die  than 
enter  the  plural  relation.  We  are  ruined  finan- 
cially and  I  do  not  care  to  live  anyway. '  * 

"If  she  never  gives  her  consent,  I  will  see  to  it 
that  no  harm  comes  to  her.  I  will  preserve  her 
perfect  in  every  particular.  Virtue  is  her  greatest 
attribute.  It  seems  to  be  so  grounded  into  her 
lovely  nature  that  a  violation  of  it  would  kill  her. 
No  force  shall  ever  be  tried  to  overcome  it ;  but, 
if  by  any  suasion,  she  will  consent  to  be  my 
bride,  I  will  restore  your  property  with  interest, 
as  you  know  I  bought  it  all  in  at  the  sale ;  and 
Lola  shall  have  the  best  home  in  Zion.  The 
decision  is  with  you.  You  can  have  wealth  and 
happiness  at  your  command,  or  die  an  ignomini- 
ous death  on  the  gallows — yes,  on  the  gallows." 

Again  the  two  relapsed  into  silence.  Evidently 
a  great  conflict  was  going  on  in  their  minds. 
Lehman  feared  that  his  cruel  threats  were  about 
to  fail  to  accomplish  his  ends,  hence  his  promises. 
Presently  he  continued : —  ~ 

"If  you  accept  the  terms  I  offer,  it  will  simply 
leave  the  whole  matter  with  the  girl ;  I  view  it 
as  a  duty  you  owe  to  yourselves  as  well  as  to  her, 
to  accept  and  leave  her  to  decide." 

"But  if  we  leave,  how  about  the  indictment?" 
asked  Mr.  Allison.  ^ 

' '  I  will  employ  the  best  counsel  in  the  Territory, 
and  have  it  dismissed  on  the  grounds  of  lack  of 
evidence  to  make  a  case.     If  you  stay,  you  have 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  347 

no  means  with  which  to  employ  an  attorney,  and 
the  final  outcome  will  be  the  inevitable — convic- 
tion and  punishment.  Of  course,  you  are  still 
living  on  my  place ;  if  you  should  be  on  trial  for 
this  grave  charge,  in  justice  to  myself,  I  would  be 
compelled  to  turn  you  out-of-doors;  as  I  could 
not  afford  to  let  the  public  believe  that  I  was  har- 
boring, a  criminal,  however  much  I  might  want 
to  let  you  remain — yes,  to  let  you  remain. " 

'*This  is  the  most  cruel  injustice  that  was  ever 
inflicted  upon  mortals,"  said  Mr.  Allison  despair- 
ingly. Then  continuing,  "Dear  wife,  we  will 
have  to  accept — poverty  drives  us — we  are  not 
free!" 

"Can  we  not  have  until  to-morrow  to  reflect 
and  decide?"  pleaded  Mrs.  Allison. 

Lehman,  now  feeling  that  his  victory  was  prac- 
tically won,  said  in  a  very  kind  manner, — 

**No,  that  will  be  too  late.  If  you  are  here 
when  the  sun  rises,  I  cannot  save  you ;  and  if  you 
are  hanged  or  imprisoned  for  life,  Lola  can  never 
be  happy  again.  It  is  for  her  happiness  that  I 
strive.  You  must  be  far  from  here  ere  the  dawn 
of  the  morrow.  I  will  have  closed  carriages  in 
front  of  my  house,  where  you  still  live,  in  an 
hour.  You  and  your  son  take  the  first  carriage. 
Lola  will  take  the  second,  where  there  will  be 
some  one  to  protect  her  and  a  maid  to  accompany 
her." 

"What  on  earth  shall  we  tell  Lola  about  this 
sudden  separation?"  asked  Mrs.  Allison. 


34^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

**Say  nothing  about  a  separation.  Say  to  her 
that  we  must  all  leave  this  place  at  once,  even 
this  night,  in  order  to  save  our  lives.  Be  ready 
— she  has  absolute  confidence  in  what  you  say. 
As  you  pass  the  second  carriage,  which  we  will 
stop  immediately  in  front  of  the  gate,  tell  her  to 
take  this  carriage;  when  she  steps  in,  shut  the 
door.  Enjoin  silence  on  all.  Take  the  first  car- 
riage and  all  will  start. ' ' 

An  hour  later,  the  strange  program,  exceed- 
ingly strange  to  Lola,  was  begun.  The  only 
explanation  that  her  parents  gave  her  was,  "We 
must  leave  this  place  at  once."  The  father  was 
pale  and  nervous,  with  a  look  of  despair  written 
on  his  countenance.  The  mother  sobbed  bit- 
terly; meanwhile,  Lola  and  Willy  looked  on  in 
silent  wonder. 

When  they  came  to  the  carriage  in  which  she 
was  to  enter,  they  each  gave  her  a  fond  embrace, 
kissing  her  lovingly,  as  they  wept  in  silent  bitter- 
ness. Her  new  history  seemed  to  heighten  her 
in  their  estimation  many  fold.  She  seemed  at 
that  moment  an  angel  of  love  to  them.  They 
thought  not  of  themselves,  nor  of  what  they  had 
lost,  but  only  of  her  whom  they  loved  as  well  as 
their  own  dear  Willy.  Now  she  seemed  dearer 
than  ever,  as  she  was  to  be  torn  so  suddenly  from 
them,  they  knew  not  how  long.  They  then  told 
her,  in  a  whisper,  to  enter  the  carriage.  She 
obeyed,  as  the  tears  blinded  her  sight,  carrying  a 
little  valise  of  clothing — her  only  earthly  posses- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  349 

sions ;  even  the  watch,  which  Adrian  had  won  in 
the  fishing  contest,  had  been  surrendered  to  help 
pay  the  tithing  laid  upon  her  parents.  The  car- 
riage door  was  closed  behind  her.  A  cold  shud-  ' 
der  shook  her  frame  as  she  seated  herself  and 
discovered  that  she  was  not  to  be  accompanied 
by  her  parents  and  Willy — but  by  a  strange  man 
and  woman.  She  heard  the  first  carriage  move 
away;  at  that  same  moment  her  own  moved  in 
another  direction. 

"What  can  this  strange  procedure  mean?"  she 
asked  herself  many  times.  If  her  parents  had 
not  placed  her  in  the  carriage,  she  would  have 
felt  that  she  was  going  to  the  slaughter,  as 
her  friend  Evelyn  had  gone.  She  had  not 
thought  of  Evelyn  for  some  time  before,  but 
now  the  remembrance  of  this  murdered  friend 
came  into  her  mind  along  with  other  gloomy 
thoughts.  A  horrible  dread  seized  her;  she 
became  unconscious  of  things  about  her — 
sinking  into  a  trance.  At  times,  she  fancied 
she  saw  her  own  coffin  with  the  Angel  of 
Death  standing  over  her.  She  saw  the  nude  form 
of  Evelyn,  kneeling  in  the  midst  of  the  holy 
priesthood;  then  the  members  of  the  priesthood 
seemed  to  turn  to  hideous  monsters,  descending 
into  an  awful  abyss  of  darkness,  while  Evelyn, 
as  an  Angel  of  Light,  arose  to  the  realms  of  bliss. 
It  seemed  half  real,  half  a  dream,  as  a  vision  of 
an  innumerable  host,  clad  in  white  robes,  passed 
before  her.     She  was  impressed  that  Adrian  must 


35o  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

be  among  the  throng ;  and  thought,  I  will  await 
here  until  I  see  him.  While  watching  for  him, 
the  figures  of  a  man  and  woman  came  out  from 
the  host,  toward  her;  they  seemed  young  and 
beautiful  to  her  imagination.  They  came  closer 
and  closer,  when  she  saw  in  the  features  of  the 
woman,  the  reflection  of  her  own  face,  except  the 
eyes ;  then,  as  she  gazed  at  the  man,  she  saw  the 
reflection  of  her  own  eyes.  They  drew  still 
closer,  when  the  man  with  a  compassionate  look 
on  his  face,  laid  his  hand  softly  upon  her  head, 
saying:  "May  heaven  guard  and  protect  you,  my 
sweet  child."  The  woman  was  kneeling  beside 
her  in  silent  prayer ;  then  rising,  a  tear  fell  from 
her  eye  and  seemed  to  enter  Lola's  heart.  She 
gazed  on  the  figures  with  enchanted  amazement, 
as  her  heart's  love  went  out  to  them — they  were 
drawing  from  her — she  reached  her  hands  toward 
them — she  struggled  to  rise  and  follow,  but  was 
unable  to  do  so.  They  turned  and  looked  at  her 
— Oh,  such  a  look  of  loving  compassion!  Then 
the  woman  said,  "  My  darling  child,  look  to  Jesus, 
and  you  shall  conquer."  The  scene  changed, 
and  all  was  darkness.  Involuntarily  she  cried 
aloud:  "Oh,  why  did  you  not  take  me  with  you?" 
As  she  aroused  from  her  unconscious  state,  she 
felt  the  motion  of  the  carriage,  as  it  was  swiftly 
whirling  on,  she  knew  not  where.  She  felt  the 
warm,  soft  hand  of  a  woman,  gently  rubbing  her 
forehead,  caught  the  odor  of  camphor,  then  fell 
asleep. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Lola  awoke  the  next  morning  as  they  drove 
into  Nephi,  fifty  miles  from  the  Garden  City. 
The  motion  of  the  carriage  and  the  light  anaes- 
thetics, caused  her  to  sleep  long  and  soundly  after 
her  worry  and  weeping.  The  carriage  had 
stopped  but  once  during  the  entire  night,  this 
halt  being  at  Santaquin,  to  change  horses;  but 
Lola  did  not  arouse  from  her  slumber.  Disap- 
pointment and  trouble  had  now  become  a  part  of 
her  expectations  in  life;  the  only  consolation  she 
received  was  from  the  blessed  word  of  God ;  and 
in  her  trials  she  often  repeated  to  herself:  **To 
him  that  overcometh,  I  will  give  to  eat  of  the  tree 
of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of 
God." 

She  trusted  in  the  promises  of  the  Saviour,  to 
the  uttermost,  though  deprived  of  friends,  fortune, 
parents,  and  every  earthly  pleasure ;  she  prayed 
in  silence  to  the  living  God  before  opening  her 
eyes,  and  resolved  to  lay  all  her  sorrows  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  The  vision  she  had  the  night 
before,  seemed  real  to  her,  now  that  she  was 
refreshed  from  sleep  and  possessed  of  all  her 
faculties. 

**Yes,"  she  said  to  herself,  "whether  it  be  real 
or  fanciful,  that  the  two  angelic  figures  appeared 
to  me  from  out  the  multitude,  my  conscience 
dictates  that  their  instruction  is  the  true  way; 

351 


352  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

therefore,  I  will  look  to  Jesus  and  trust  in  liim, 
no  matter  what  evil  befalls  me,  with  the  hope 
that  I  may  conquer.  *  * 

She  opened  her  eyes  and  was  horrified  to  see 
that  she  was  accompanied  by  Lehman,  whom  she 
had  long  suspected  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  her 
troubles,  and  a  woman  who  was  a  discarded  plural 
of  ex- President  John  Bodenheimer,  and  who 
went  by  the  name  of  Flora. 

Flora  was  a  good-hearted,  happy-go-lucky 
creature  of  thirty- five  summers,  who  was  yet 
rather  pretty  and  whose  morals  were  somewhat 
easy.  All  she  cared  for  in  the  world  was  a  * 'jolly 
time.  * '  The  Saints  liked  her  jovial  disposition. 
She  had  never  had  a  cross  word  with  any  person 
except  her  "concubine  husband,"  as  she  termed 
President  Bodenheimer.  He  sought  to  make  her 
love  exclusive  unto  himself,  and  when  he  broached 
the  subject  to  her,  she  ridiculed  the  proposition, 
saying,  in  a  playful  and  jesting  manner: — 

**Oh  no,  no!  my  president,  not  by  your  bay 
whiskers,  I  won't.  I  love  everybody — one  man 
as  well  as  another — including  the  women,  even. 
I  make  no  choice  in  favor  of  you,  neither  do  I 
discriminate  against  you.  My  love  is  free  for  all. 
Your  bay  whiskers  are  beautiful,  unique,  exqui- 
site, I  might  say  bordering  upon  the  sublime,  but 
whiskers  are  not  the  only  attraction  of  men ;  they 
wear  pants;  some  go  to  the  trouble  of  calling 
them  pantaloons,  while  the  aesthetic  society  belle 
would  say  trousers,  and  the  uncultured  vulgarly 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  353 

say  breeches;  but  I  detest  vulgarity  above  every- 
thing else.  I  believe  in  love — pure  and  simple. 
Love  is  a  divine  attribute.  Love  thinketh  no 
evil,  and  is  not  puffed  up.  Until  man  is  exclu- 
sive in  his  love,  women  should  not  be — indeed  she 
cannot  be.  Our  religion  breathes  the  sweet  senti- 
ments of  free  love,  and  1  accept  it  all,  including 
this,    and  practice  the  same. ' ' 

**I  will  have  thee  dismissed  from  the  church  at 
once  for  immorality,"  said  Bodenheimer. 

*'0h  no,  my  president — not  by  your  bay  whisk- 
ers— all  the  leaders  whom  I  know,  have  been  my 
lovers!  'Tis  well  written,  *He  that  is  without 
sin,  let  him  cast  the  first  stone. '  You  cannot  cast 
it,  Johnnie;  neither  can  they;  hence  I  am  secure 
in  my  membership.  For  example,  let  us  suppose 
the  case,  Johnnie ;  say,  for  instance,  there  is  one 
straight,  exclusive  individual  in  the  church,  and 
that  he  began  to  throw  stones  at  all  who  are  not ; 
don't  you  know,  Johnnie,  that  he  would  soon  be 
the  only  member  left?  Start  this  against  me, 
and  I  will  have  the  most  powerful  woman  in  your 
stake — Sister  Zina — to  defend  me.  She  believes 
in  free  love  which  the  most  of  us  practice,  and 
ha!  ha!  ha!  by  the  grace  of  your  bay  whiskers, 
you  can't  say  you  have  not  practiced  the  same 
with  her." 

*'Well,  thou  mayest  depend  upon  it,  that  I  will 
not  have  another  thing  to  do  with  thee." 

Lola  knew  the  characters  who  were  accompany- 
ing her.     She  disliked  Lehman  with  all  the  power 

2» 


354  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

of  her  gentle  nature,  and  despised  the  lack  of 
modesty  in  the  conduct  of  Flora.  But  Flora 
proved  to  be  so  good  and  kind,  and  said  so  many- 
diverting  things,  that  she  could  not  help  liking 
her  at  times.  She  liked  the  individual,  but 
was  sorry  that  Flora  acted  in  a  manner  she 
could  not  approve.  There  were  two  redeeming 
features  in  Flora's  character;  she  actually  loved 
every  person  she  met,  and  was,  usually,  chaste  in 
her  language.  Her  sayings  were  often  double 
entente ;  but  she  was  an  exception  to  the  rule,  in 
this  respect,  she  would  not  take  the  name  of  God 
in  vain.  She  declared  swearing  to  be  beneath 
the  dignity  of  a  lady  and  against  her  individual 
religion,  although  the  brothers  and  sisters,  in 
general,  differed  from  her  on  that  particular 
point. 

Lola  said  not  a  word  on  awakening,  except  to 
"pass  the  time  of  day.  She  then  Sat  silent,  wrapt 
in  deep  meditation.  In  a  short  time  they  drove 
up  in  front  of  the  home  of  one  of  the  leading 
elders  of  the  Juab  Stake.  Here  they  rested  for 
the  day.  She  wondered  where  her  parents  were ; 
although  her  heart  was  breaking  to  know,  yet  she 
maintained  silence,  fearing  that  to  know  would 
add  to  her  sorrow.  About  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  they  resumed  their  journey,  arriving 
the  next  morning  about  sunrise,  at  the  home  of 
Lehman's  fifth  wife,  at  Filmore. 

The  capital  of  the  Territory  had  once  been 
located  here,  and    there    were   many    beautiful 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  355 

homes.  The  most  magnificent  of  these  was 
occupied  by  Lehman's  fifth  and  her  family. 
The  house  consisted  of  fifteen  rooms,  spacious 
halls,  many  closets,  bath  room,  and  a  basement 
in  which  was  a  side  board,  where  a  goodly  store 
of  various  kinds  of  strong  drink  could  be  found. 
A  beautiful  lawn,  with  large  shade  trees,  sur- 
rounded the  house,  making  a  lovely  home,  had 
the  social  conditions  been  right. 

It  was  late  autumn,  and  the  trees  had  well-nigh 
dropped  their  foliage.  Lola  was  assigned  a  large 
room  upstairs,  at  the  front  of  the  house.  There 
was  a  fine  piano  in  the  parlor,  which  had  been 
taken  from  the  ill-fated  train  at  Mountain  Meadow, 
and  had  fallen  to  Lehman  as  his  share  of  the 
booty.  Lola  could  not  understand  why  a  strange 
feeling  seized  her  whenever  she  lookM  at  the 
piano.  She  knew  nothing  of  its  history,  and  she 
dearly  loved  to  play;  but  she  never  could  bear  to 
strike  a  note  upon  the  sweet- toned  instrument. 
Flora  was  ever  on  hand  to  render  her  any  assist- 
ance she  desired;  also,  all  the  servants  about  the 
place  were  instructed  to  do  everything  possible 
for  her  pleasure.  She  and  Flora  often  took 
drives  together,  when  Lola  would  relate  how  sad 
and  broken-hearted  she  was,  and  when  she  wept. 
Flora  would  try  to  soothe  her.  Day  after  day, 
week  after  week,  and  month  after  month,  did 
Flora  try  to  tempt  her  by  every  picture  she  could 
draw,  in  beautiful,  persuasive  language,  to  for- 
sake her  lonely  life  of  virtue  and  purity,  and  to 


356  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

wed  the  bishop  and  enjoy  his  shining  gold ;  but 
all  to  no  effect.  When  alone  in  her  room  at 
night,  Lola  would  pour  out  her  soul  in  prayer, 
and  ask  the  Saviour  to  help  her  to  be  firm  and 
true.  Instead  of  growing  weaker  under  the 
temptations  and  snares  set  for  her,  she  grew 
stronger ;  she  even  converted  Flora  to  her  way  of 
thinking — who  would  now  have  helped  her  to 
escape,  if  she  dared. 

Everything  that  would  be  calculated  to  tempt 
her,  was  lavished  upon  the  unhappy  girl.  Leh- 
man often  forced  his  visits  upon  her,  approaching 
her  with  words  of  love,  which  she  ever  repulsed 
defiantly.  A  little  more  than  a  year  had  passed 
since  he  had  brought  her  to  this  beautiful  place. 
During  the  time,  he  had  spent  much  time  and 
money  in  the  vain  attempt  to  win  her.  John  D. 
Lee  had  been  arrested  and  his  case  set  for  trial  at 
Beaver.  Under  no  circumstances  must  she  be 
at  liberty  during  the  trial,  lest  she  might  hear 
something,  so  thought  the  wary  bishop.  "If  I 
win'  her,  it  must  be  before  the  trial  begins. ' '  He 
visited  her  at  her  room,  for  a  final  struggle  upon 
the  subject;  and,  if  he  should  fail,  he  designed 
placing  her  in  close  confinement  to  test  if  that 
would  bring  her  to  terms.  He  began  the  conver- 
sation thus: — 

"My  darling,  I  have  come  to  tell  thee  again 
how  my  heart  yearns  for  thee,  and  how  much  I 
love  thee.  For,  years  I  have  sought  thee, 
prayed  for  thee,  and,  finally,  gave  thee  a  home  of 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  357 

luxury,  when  thou  wert  sadly  in  need  of  my 
assistance.  I  have  placed  everything  that  heart 
could  wish  at  thy  command.  Took  thee  out  of 
the  depths  of  poverty,  and " 

''Stop I"  said  Lola,  "was  it  with  my  consent 
that  you  took  me  out  of  poverty  and  brought  me 
here,  placing  this  unappreciated  luxury  at  my 
command?  I  was  poor,  indeed,  ere  you  brought 
me  here,  speaking  from  a  pecuniary  standpoint; 
but  I  lived  in  the  sweet  sunshine  of  parental 
love,  with  my  dear  brother  at  my  side,  to  sympa- 
thize in  my  sorrows ;  we  shared  with  each  other 
the  small  remnant  of  pleasure  that  was  left  us. 
We  knelt  at  the  evening  hour,  and  prayed  to  the 
Father  above  and  thanked  him  for  the  sweet  hope 
of  an  immortal  life  beyond  the  grave.  Again  we 
knelt  in  our  little  family  circle,  with  the  rising  of 
the  sun,  and  repeated,  in  concert,  the  sweetest 
prayer  that  was  ever  given  to  the  world,  and 
asked  with  humble  hearts,  *Give  us  this  day  our 
daily  bread.'  O  sir!  We  would  never  have 
starved  under  His  divine  care.  To  have  been 
permitted  to  live  with  my  parents,  a  life  of  truth 
and  honor,  as  we  walked  in  the  holy  light  of  Jesus, 
with  but  a  crust,  would  be  paradise,  compared  to 
this  life  of  loneliness. " 

'*  Loneliness?  My  best  wife  with  her  children 
are  here — servants  are  at  thy  command,  when- 
ever thou  mayest  need  them.  A  beautiful  home 
and  one  of  the  most  charming  women  in  the 
whole  church — our  good  Sister  Flora,  to  beguile 


358  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

thee  of  every  care;  besides,  we  often  have 
friends  to  come  in,  and  concert  parties  to  while 
away  the  hours.  Thou  dost  like  music.  Many 
times  have  I  heard  thee  play  most  beautifully, 
and  charm  thy  hearers  with  thy  sweet  voice, 
while  at  thy  home ;  yet,  since  thou  hast  been  in 
my  house,  not  one  note  hast  thou  made." 

"O  sir!  Is  it  possible  that  you  cannot  divine 
the  ^•eason?  I  am  in  a  cage — imprisoned — I  am 
not  permitted  to  see  those  I  love.  If  we  deprive 
a  bird  of  freedom,  though  it  may  be  the  sweetest 
songster,  it  will  lapse  into  silence.  I  respect  all, 
so  far  as  they  respect  themselves.  Flora  is  a 
charming  woman,  in  some  respects,  but,  in 
others,  she  is  not  of  my  liking ;  nor  should  I  be 
forced  to  make  a  companion  of  such  a  one.  I 
hope  and  believe  that  Flora  may  yet  become 
right.  As  she  forsakes  her  lewd  ways,  in  that 
proportion  does  my  love  increase  for  her.  I 
would  that  I  could  witness  a  complete  reforma- 
tion and  feel  that  the  Saviour's  words  applied  to 
her,  also,  when  he  said:  'Go  thy  way  and  sin 
no  more. '  " 

*' Heavenly  creature,  thou  hast  spoken  beauti- 
fully of  Sister  Flora;  but  thou  didst  speak  of 
being  caged,  and  likened  thy  condition  to  the 
song-bird  that  was  pent  up  and  not  permitted  to 
see  those  it  loved.  O  sweet  one,  if  thou  wilt  be 
mine,  every  luxury  shall  be  thine  to  enjoy.  Thy 
parents,  brother,  and  other  friends  shall  be 
restored  to  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  the  queen  of 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  359 

my  heart ;  for  I  love  thee  wildly,  passionately — 
beyond  any  degree  that  I  have  ever  loved  before 
— yes,  far  better  than  I  ever  loved  any  mortal 
before." 

**Sir,  I  do  not  love  you  in  return;  neither  have 
you  any  right  whatever  to  love  me.  In  the  name 
of  everything  that  is  pure  and  holy,  I  beseech 
you,  imploringly,  to  have  mercy  upon  me,  and 
torture  me  no  more,  by  broaching  this  subject  to 
me.  I  can  never  be  yours,  for  I  love  another. 
Restore  me  to  my  parents,  and  I  will  try  to 
respect  you ;  farther  than  this,  I  will  not  go,  for 
I  would  lose  not  only  the  blissful  hope  of  heaven, 
but  my  conscience  would  smite  me  to  the 
grave. ' ' 

She  was  on  her  knees  before  the  powerful  man, 
wringing  her  hands;  then  bowing  her  head  low, 
as  she  closed  the  words,  waited  for  an  answer. 
He  stood  for  some  moments,  and  she  hoped  that 
she  had  at  last  touched  his  heart.  Then  he 
answered : — 

**I  cannot  give  thee  up.  Until  thou  has  prom- 
ised to  be  my  bride,  thou  shalt  not  see  thy 
parents." 

She  quickly  arose  to  a  defiant  attitude  and  said 
in  a  firm  tone : — 

**Then  I  shall  never  see  them  on  this  earth; 
but  there  will  come  a  time,  when,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  I  will  be  privileged  to  see  them,  even 
without  the  consent  of  the  priesthood  or  any 
member  thereof. "  * 


3^0  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Precious  darling,  do  not  talk  to  me  thus. 
While  life  shall  last,  I  will  fight  for  thy  love. 
There  is  nothing  that  I  would  not  do  to  secure 
it;  nor " 

"Then  go  and  hang  yourself,  and  cheat  the  law 
of  its  rights ;  then,  I  will  forgive  the  wrongs  done 
unto  me  and  mine." 

"Sweet  star  of  my  earthly  happiness,  do  not 
talk  to  me  like  this ;  for  I  love  thee  as  man  never 
loved  before." 

"Did  you  say  as  much  to  your  first  wife?  If 
so,  I  grant  you  had  the  right.  You  and  she 
were  wed — she  lives — you  claim  her  as  your  law- 
ful wife  still.  Afterward,  you  married  another. 
Did  you  say  as  much  to  her?  If  so,  it  was  wrong 
— very  wrong.  You  took  a  third.  Was  it  so  with 
her?  If  so,  it  was  infamous.  A  fourth  you 
have;  if  it  was  by  such  falsehoods  you  won  her, 
it  was  dastardly;  nor  did  you  stop  there,  but 
sought  and  won  a  fifth,  by  such  dark  methods  as 
would  put  the  brute  to  shame ;  and  now,  although 
thirty-five  years  my  senior,  you  seek  to  do  me 
this  awful  wrong,  by  forcing  me  into  the  most  re- 
pulsive relationship  that  I  can  imagine.  Again, 
I  beseech  you,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  say  no  more 
to  me  upon  this  distasteful  subject;  for  I  love 
another. ' ' 

"Yes,  I  know,  but,  heavenly  one,  he  is  dead. 
Thou  canst  not  marry  him. '  * 

"I  love  him  all  the  more;  yet  something  tells 
m^,  he  is  not  dead ;  but  if  it  be  true,  then  I  only 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  ;^6t 

pray  to  be  sealed  to  him  for  eternity.  When  this 
ceremony  is  performed,  I  am  ready  to  leave  this 
world  of  sin  and  sorrow  at  once. ' ' 

"Thou  mayest  be  sealed  to  him  for  eternity; 
but  wed  me  for  time,  that  we  may  raise  Up  chil- 
dren to  bless  and  exalt  thee." 

"Do  not  insult  me  more,  with  such  lustful 
propositions.  The  word  of  God  teaches  us  in 
these  words:  *For  to  be  carnally  minded  is  death; 
but  to  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and  peace. ' 
When  I  meet  Adrian  again,  I  shall  be  as  pure  as 
when  he  left  me,  no  matter  whether  it  be  in  this 
or  the  future  life.  The  conscience  is  the  guide  to 
right.  It  is  the  indicator  on  the  dial  of  life, 
placed  there  by  Jehovah  himself.  Obey  it,  and 
our  exaltation  is  sure ;  cross  it,  and  our  damna- 
tion is  inevitable.  I  shall  obey  the  dictates  of  my 
conscience,  and  trust  in  the  promise  of  the  Sav- 
iour for  my  exaltation.  I  dislike  to  be  rude,  but  I 
earnestly  wish  you  would  retire  and  leave  me 
alone. '  * 

' '  iDost  thou  order  me  from  any  part  of  my  own 
house?" 

**No,  I  do  not;  but,  sir,  you  have  assigned  this 
apartment  to  me.  You  will  not  allow  me  to 
leave,  hence  I  ask  you  to  go  to  some  other  part. 
If  you  will  only  say  the  word — I  will  leave  the 
premises  at  once." 

"Where  wouldst  thou  go,  pretty  one?** 

"I  do  not  know,  but  I  would  go  in  search  of 
my  parents ;  nor  would  I  cease  to  search  until  I 
had  found  them." 


362  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"But,  if  thou  didst  not  find  them,  wouldst  thou 
return,  as  a  prodigal,  to  this  place?" 

"No,  a  thousand  times,  no!  I  would  rather 
climb  yonder  cliffs  and  mountain  crags,  there  to 
abide,  and  be  subject  to  the  dangers  of  the  wild 
beasts,  than  to  live  under  the  same  roof  with 
you." 

He  stood  gazing  at  her  for  a  moment  with  a 
malicious  smile  on  his  face,  as  he  combed  his 
grizzly  beard  with  his  fingers;  then  said  in  a 
threatening  manner: — 

"I  will  see  thee,  my  caged  dove,  at  another 
time,  when  thou  art  more  gentle. '  *  He  then  left 
the  room,  evidently  much  disappointed,  yet 
determined  to  bring  her  to  his  feet. 

He  busied  his  brain  with  dark  designs  against 
her,  for  some  time.  He  even  contemplated  having 
her  put  to  death ;  but  some  of  the  brethren,  who 
were  weak  in  the  faith,  and  the  entire  priesthood 
of  the  church  knew  that  the  girl  was  being  kept  by 
him  in  order  to  coerce  her  into  submission.  There 
was  an  undercurrent  of  dissatisfaction  against 
such  proceedings,  among  the  lay  members;  yet 
they  dared  not  protest  openly.  The  priesthood 
knew  of  this  secret  murmuring,  however,  and 
determined  to  be  very  cautious  in  what  they  did. 
A  consultation  of  the  priesthood  of  the  Millard 
Stake,  together  with  many  of  the  leading  dignita- 
ries of  the  church,  was  held,  closing  with  a  prayer 
circle.  Owing  to  the  facts  that  many  ungodly 
Gentiles  had  settled  throughout  the  Territory,  and 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  363 

that  prosecutions  were  becoming  numerous,  and 
that  Flora  had  become  so  much  attached  to  the 
girl,  that  she  had  declared  to  Lehman,  when  con- 
sulting with  her  as  to  what  should  be  done  with 
Lola,  "The  person  or  persons  who  attempt  to 
take  Lola's  life,  will  have  to  walk  over  my  dead 
body  to  accomplish  it,"  the  priesthood  decided 
to  spare  Lola's  life  for  the  present. 

After  relating  this  conversation  to  the  high 
council,  the  bishop  said : — 

"Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  my  brethren,  Flora 
means  every  word  she  said — yes,  every  word. 
You  all  know  that  Flora  is  popular  with  all  classes ; 
if  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  taking  of 
Lola's  life,  as  we  have  contemplated,  should 
become  generally  known,  these  dastardly  Gentiles 
would  seek  to  prosecute  and  hang  us  all — yes, 
hang  us  all. " 

It  was  finally  decided  that  Lola  should  be  kept, 
so  that  she  could  be  delivered  up,  at  any  time, 
if  necessary. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

"Our  days  are  covered  o'er  with  ^rief, 
And  sorrows  neither  few  nor  brief 

Veil  all  in  gloom; 
Left  desolate  of  real  good, 
Within  this  cheerless  solitude 
No  pleasures  bloom." 

— Longfellow's  Translations. 

There  was  an  old  prison,  not  far  from  Cedar 
City,  which  had  been  abandoned  as  a  prison,  and 
was  now  occupied  by  an  eccentric  old  woman 
whom  everybody  called  "Old  Sally,"  many  sup- 
posing her  to  be  a  witch.  This  prison  had  been 
used  during  the  palmy  days  of  the  priesthood, 
as  a  place  to  incarcerate  recalcitrant  vSaints  and 
"ungodly  Gentiles,"  until  their  destiny  was 
fully  determined  upon  by  the  anointed.  There 
had  been  two  men  killed  from  shots  fired  through 
the  windows,  which  opened  into  a  court,  and  one 
had  starved  to  death  while  confined  in  this  place. 
These  men  had  never  violated  any  law ;  but  had 
run  counter  to  the  priesthood.  The  blood-stained 
tracks  were  still  visible  on  the  floor  in  the  room 
where  they  were  murdered.  Many  who  knew 
its  history,  looked  upon  the  place  as  being 
haunted,  and  avoided  it.  A  more  lonely,  deso- 
late-looking place  could  scarcely  be  found. 

It  was  an  old  stone  building,  sixteen  feet  from 

the  foundation  to  the  eaves,  eighteen  feet  wide, 

and  seventy-two  feet  long.     It  was  divided  into 

four  rooms,  each  room  eighteen  feet  square.     A 

364 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  365 

stone  wall,  sixteen .  feet  high,  enclosed  a  space 
fifty  feet  wide,  extending  the  entire  length 
of  the  building,  thus  forming  a  court,  fifty  by 
seventy-two  feet.  There  were  but  two  openings 
from  the  outside.  One  of  these  openings  was 
an  iron  door,  leading  into  the  first  room;  the 
other,  a  much  heavier,  larger  door  of  the  same 
material,  opening  into  the  court.  There  was  a 
door  and  a  window  in  each  room,  opening  into 
the  court.  The  water  from  the  spring,  just 
above  tl»e  prison,  was  piped  into  the  court.  The 
overflow,  when  not  used  by  Sally  to  irrigate  her 
truck  patch,  found  its  way  through  the  sage 
brush  to  the  west.  Dry,  desolate-looking,  sandy 
hills  arose  abruptly  on  the  east  of  the  old  prison, 
while  in  front,  the  sage  brush  reached  far  into 
the  desolate  valley. 

Old  Sally  was  tall  and  slender — all  bone  and 
sinew.  She  was  very  stoop-shouldered,  and, 
when  she  stood  straight,  she  was  six  feet  tall. 
She  had  dark,  swarthy  skin,  prominent  sharp 
features,  high  cheek  bones,  piercing  black  eyes, 
and  deep  furrowed  wrinkles.  There  was  a  large 
mole  on  her  right  cheek,  from  which  a  tuft  of 
hair  grew  to  the  length  of  an  inch.  A  large  wen 
grew  laterally,  and  a  little  above  the  left  eye. 
Her  shaggy  hair  was  nearly  a  foot  in  length, 
streaked  with  gray,  and  stood  out  all  over  the 
head,  plainly  showing  its  lack  of  care.  Her  feet 
and  hands  were  large  and  ungainly.  Her  voice 
Wfts  coarse ;  m^  she  seldom  spoke,  except  to  scold 


366  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

or  criticise.  When  she  talked,  the  only  tooti) 
she  had,  would  show  like  a  great  tush;  and,  as 
she  closed  her  mouth,  it  often  protruded  between 
her  lips.  She  always  walked  wherever  she  went, 
carrying  a  long,  heavy  stick,  as  a  cane.  She 
could  fag  any  person  who  ever  tried  to  keep  up 
with  her,  for  a  day's  walk. 

In  this  lonely,  desolate  place,  the  priesthood 
decided  to  incarcerate  Lola,  under  the  kind  pro- 
tection of  ''Old  Sally,"  the  witch. 

It  was  almost  one  hundred  miles  from  Filmore 
to  Cedar  City.  Lehman  started  at  once  to  make 
arrangements  with  Old  Sally,  for  Lola  to  be 
placed  in  her  charge.  When  he  laid  the  plan 
before  her,  and  fully  explained  everything,  she 
said : — 

"Of  course,  I'll  take  the  brat,  and  before  she 
is  here  many  moons,  she'll  be  converted  to  p'lig'- 
my,  I'll  be  bound.  I  don't  know  whar  I'm  goin' 
to  put  her,  as  I've  been  lettin'  the  pigs  stay  in 
the  two  furderest  rooms,  and  the  next  one  thar, 
I've  been  a  usin'  as  a  room  to  keep  my  truck  and 
one  thing  and  another  in,  and  it'll  not  be  safe 
to  keep  her  in  here  wi'  me." 

"No!  No!  Sally,  don't  you  ever  let  her  sleep 
in  here  with  you.  Your  life  depends  upon  you 
keeping  her  safe.  I  want  to  bring  her  to  sub- 
mission in  the  shortest  time  possible  —yes,  the 
shortest  time  possible.  To  do  this,  she  must  be 
punished  as  much  as  she  can  endure,  for  I  have 
tm^  kindness  upon  her,  which  ha?  sadly  failed ; 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  367 

therefore  I  charge  you  again,  on  your  life,  never 
to  allow  her  to  sleep  in  here  with  you,  no,  never 
in  here  with  you." 

"Well,  then,  I'll  fix  her  a  sort  of  bed,  in  thar, 
in  the  corner  on  a  pile  of  straw;  and  if  she  gits 
very  lonesome,  she  can  go  in  whar  the  pigs  is,  and 
sleep.  If  she  gets  sassy,  I'll  hand  her  stuff  in  for 
her  to  eat ;  but  if  she  minds  good,  she  can  come 
in  here  and  eat  wi'  me.  I'll  warrant  she's  a 
vixen. ' ' 

*'No,  she  is  not.  She  is  the  most  charming 
creature  on  earth,  and  she  will  be  perfectly  obe- 
dient— yes,  obedient." 

"Yer  tell  the  confoundedest  lies  I  ever  hearn. 
One  minnit  yer  say  she's  obedient;  yer  jist  told 
me,  yer  can't  git  her  ter  marry  yer.  She  must 
be  a  purty  bird — parrot,  I  'spect. " 

**No,  she  doesn't  call  it  disobedience  to  refuse 
to  wed  me ;  but  the  trouble  is,  she  don't  believe  in 
the  plurality;  consequently,  she  won't  marry 
me  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  her  conscience. 
But  I  say  to  you,  she  is  the  most  lovely  creature 
on  earth,  as  fair  and  pretty  as  a  lily — yes,  a  lily." 

"It's  a  pity  but  what  I'd  had  a  bit  of  her 
purty  qualities.  I  tried  to  get  a  lot  o'  the  Saints 
to  make  me  as  a  plural  or  anything,  and  looked 
at  it  as  a  duty ;  but  I  war  always  jist  a  little  too 
late.  Could  even  have  got  Brother  Brigham; 
but  I  was  jist  a  little  too  late.  He'd  had  a  reve- 
lation that  he  warn't  to  take  any  more  jist  then, 
^nd  thaVs  always  been  my  luck.    When  I  jined 


368  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

the  church,  I  was  a  rag-picker  in  the  slums  o* 
London.  Them  mishners  what  come  down  thar, 
said  I'd  not  be  in  Zion  a  week  'til  I  was  tuck  by 
some  man.  They  got  me  all  right,  you  bet;  but 
I'm  not  married  yet,  ha!  ha!  ha! — purty  as  I  be." 

**Well,  see  to  it  that  you  keep  the  girl.  She 
will  be  here  within  three  weeks.  Let  no  person 
see  her,  unless  accompanied  by  me." 

** Never  doubt  me,  Bish,  she'll  never  g^t  out- 
side o'  the  walls  o'  this  shack." 

**That  is  well.  Here  is  a  purse  of  gold.  See 
that  she  is  converted.     Good-bye. ' ' 

Three  weeks  later,  a  covered  mountain  hack 
drove  up  to  the  old  prison  and  stopped.  It  was 
about  the  middle  of  April,  1875.  It  had  been  a 
perfect  spring  day.  The  refreshing  breeze  that 
came  through  the  canons  and  across  the  high 
hills  was  soft,  and  as  pure  as  the  snow  on 
the  loftiest  peaks.  A  drive  on  such  a  day 
was  delightful.  So  thought  Lola;  as  they  drove 
through  canons,  from  valley  to  valley,  amid  the 
change  of  varied  scenes.  The  sun  was  low  on 
the  western  horizon,  reflecting  a  glorious  halo  in 
the  valley,  and  on  the  mountain  sides.  His 
splendor  pierced  the  misty  clouds,  blending  in  the 
most  gorgeous  colors.  The  tinkle  of  the  bells  from 
the  herds,  sounded  faintly  in  the  distance.  The 
larks  were  singing  their  good-night  song,  and  all 
nature  seemed  preparing  for  the  night's  repose, 
There  were  four  in  the  vehicle — Flora  in  the  back 
seat  with  Lola,  and  Lehman  on  _th^  frpnt  §fat 
with  Hf  nry  Spiral^  the  driy^ri 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  369 

Not  a  soul  had  stopped  at  the  old  prison  within 
five  years  except  Lehman  on  his  visit,  three 
weeks  before.  It  was  five  miles  away  from  the 
public  highway.  Lola  had  not  noticed  that  they 
had  turned  from  the  main  road  until  they  came 
to  the  end,  and  the  wagon  stopped;  when  she 
said  in  great  surprise: — 

*'Dear  me,  Flora,  why  are  we  halting  at  this 
lonely  place?  It  looks  so  lonely  and  dismal — my 
dear  parents  and  brother  are  not  here,  I  hope?" 

Lehman  had  told  her  before  leaving  his  home 
at  Filmore,  that  they  would  go  on  rather  a  long 
trip,  and  if  she  acted  properly,  according  to  his 
will,  she  would  get  to  see  her  parents  before  she 
returned.  Further  than  this,  she  had  received 
no  intimation  of  the  object  of  the  journey,  nor 
where  she  was  going.  A  faint  hope  of  seeing  her 
parents  and  Willy  once  more  had  filled  her  heart 
with  joy ;  and  she  had  been  moderately  happy 
during  the  entire  journey  of  two  days.  The 
temporary  hope  instantly  vanished,  as  the  old 
witch  stepped  out  of  the  door  and  said  in  a  loud, 
croaking  voice,  just  as  Lola  had  finished  her 
remarks  to  Flora: — 

'* Hello,  Bish.  I  had  almost  come  ter  the  'elu- 
sion yer  wam't  comin'.  Is  this  the  purty  brat 
what's  ter  be  my  ward?" 

"Yes,"  said  Lehman,  "give  her  the  best  accom- 
modations thou  hast ;  but  allow  no  one  to  see  her, 
and  see  that  she  i^  kept  until  I  return — yes,  until 
Ireturn/' 


37©  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

**  Don't  yer  doubt  any  uv  it,  Bish. " 

**0  Brother  Lehman!  Is  it  possible  that  it  is 
your  design  to  place  me  in  this  lonely  prison? 
For  Heaven's  sake  do  not  leave  me  here.  You 
promised  me  when  we  left  Filmore  that  I  should 
see  my  parents  and  brother.  Is  this  the  end  of 
my  cherished  hope?  Oh,  no!  no!  no!  Do  not  say 
yes.  I  am  not  yet  sealed  to  my  dead  lover,  and 
I  shall  be  lost  from  him  forever;  for  I  shall  die 
if  left  in  this  horrible  place.  Take  me  away. 
O,  do  take  me  from  here. ' ' 

She  had  once  heard  the  grewsome  history  of 
the  old  prison.  It  now  fully  dawned  upon  her 
where  she  was.     Lehman  then  answered: — 

**Can  I  take  thee  to  the  temple  for  endow- 
ment, as  my  own?  If  so,  thou  canst  have  every- 
thing at  thy  command — everything  thou  canst 
wish — see  thy  parents  and  brother  at  once,  and 
they  shall  be  restored  to  their  home.  There  is 
no  other  condition  under  which  thou  canst  see 
them.  If  thy  answer  is  nay,  that  thou  wilt  not 
be  my  sixth,  then  it  is  decreed  and  revealed 
through  the  holy  priesthood,  in  prayer  circle  con- 
vened, that  thy  home  shall  be  in  this  magnificent 
structure,  until  thou  dost  yield;  for  no  person 
shall  be  permitted  to  violate  the  divine  will  of 
God,  as  revealed  through  the  holy  priesthood — 
yes,  the  holy  priesthood." 

**Oh,  cruel  sentence!  cruel  sentence!"  she  bit- 
terly sobbed,  as  the  scalding  tears  fell  thick  and 
fast.     Then  brightening  as  if  a  new  thought  had 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  371 

come  to  her,  she  asked,  *'Is  Flora  to  stay  with 
me?" 

**Nay,  verily;  dost  thou  think  I  have  brought 
thee  here  for  pleasure?  I  have  tried  winning 
thee,  my  pretty  dove,  by  luxury ;  and  that  has 
sadly  failed. ' ' 

''Please  let  her  stay.  I  shall  be  so  lonely  with- 
out her.  O  please,  sir,  grant  me  this  boon — 'tis 
all  I  will  ask;  simply  this — that  the  hope  of  hap- 
piness may  not  all  be  crushed.  *  * 

"My  obstinate  miss,  I  will  yet  teach  thee  that 
when  I  speak,  I  mean  what  I  say.  Flora  cannot 
stay — nay,  she  cannot  stay. '  * 

"Then  take  my  life,  I  pray.  I  will  not  be  left 
here;  Oh,  please  be  merciful,  and  kill  me — any- 
thing but  being  left  in  this  horrible  prison!" 

"Pshaw,  Bish,  you're  foolish;  stop  this  moan- 
ing. Take  her  out  of  the  wagon  and  be  done  with 
it.     I  don't  like  this  foolin',"  said  Old  Sally. 

All  were  much  excited.  Lehman  and  Sally 
seized  her,  and  dragged  her  out  of  the  wagon, 
by  force.  Lola  clung  to  the  wagon  as  a  drown- 
ing man  clings  to  whatever  he  may  grasp.  Flora 
was  weeping  hysterically,  and  the  driver  shrugged 
his  shoulders,  clinched  his  teeth,  and  beat  his 
thighs  with  his  fist,  muttering,  "Curse  the  luck; 
how  can  I  stand  it?" 

When  they  had  dragged  her  to  the  ground.  Old 
Sally  said,  "Stop  your  ravin',  young  wench.  I'll 
warrant  yer  git  over  this  before  yer  wi'  me  a 
week." 


372  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

She  at  once  saw  that  she  was  but  a  babe  in  the 
hands  of  Sally.  And  Oh!  that  horrible  voice 
when  in  rage!  She  stood  mute,  trembling  with 
terror.  Her  valise  was  then  taken  from  the 
vehicle,  when  Lehman  came  up  before  her  and 
kneeling  said : — 

"O  my  divine  love,  wilt  thou  be  mine?  Thou 
whom  I  have  loved  most  passionately  since  thou 
hast  attained  the  age  of  comely  womanhood.  I 
only  pray  that  I  may  make  thee  happy,  and  dry 
thy  every  tear.  Permit  me  to  go  with  thee  at 
once  to  the  temple,  for  endowment,  where  thou 
shalt  also  be  sealed  to  Adrian — meet  thy  parents, 
and  wed  me  for  time — yes,  for  time.  " 

Lola  looked  at  the  dismal  prison  walls,  the 
lonely  surroundings,  the  gloomy  sand  hills,  with 
a  shudder,  as  the  twilight  added  to  the  solitary 
desolation.  She  raised  her  eyes  to  heaven,  for 
she  half  hesitated.  It  was  a  life  and  death  strug- 
gle. Her  fountain  of  tears  had  ceased  to  flow. 
Her  suffering  was  so  great  that  her  tears  refused 
to  respond  to  the  aching,  throbbing  heart.  All 
was  silent  as  the  tomb.  The  horses  seemed  to 
stand  in  breathless  silence ;  the  old  prison  walls, 
the  hills,  earth,  and  heaven  seemed  to  listen,  as 
if  waiting  for  the  fall  or  triumph  of  this  princess 
of  virtue,  truth,  and  honor,  over  the  snares,  temp- 
tations, and  oppression  of  Mor monism.  She 
stood  motionless  for  minutes,  in  silent  prayer. 
Presently  her  face  brightened,  as  she  remembered 
Wb^t  tli9  two  angelic  figures  md  to  her,  tbQ  night 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  373 

she  was  torn  from  her  parents  at  the  Garden 
City.  The  words  resounded  through  her  ears: 
"Look  to  Jesus  and  you  shall  conquer."  No 
sooner  did  these  words  come  to  her  again,  than 
she  resolved  anew  to  be  true  to  her  conscience. 
'"Tis  a  bitter  cup  to  drink — to  be  cast  into  such 
a  prison,  for  no  just  cause;  yet,  I  will  stand  it  all 
without  a  murmur,"  she  said  to  herself.  Thus 
resolved,  she  looked  at  Lehman,  who  was  yet 
kneeling  before  her,  in  an  imploring  attitude,  as 
she  said  in  a  firm  voice: — 

"No,  never!  The  embrace  of  those  gloomy 
prison  walls  is  preferable  to  thine.  This  will  be 
a  sweet  haven.  Imprisonment  here,  rather  than 
mistress  in  your  lustful  harem." 

As  she  spoke  these  words,  a  heavy  load  was 
lifted  from  her  aching  heart.  She  turned  from 
this  prince  of  demons,  and  walked  with  a  firm 
step,  through  the  only  opening  she  saw,  into  the 
old  prison,  followed  by  Old  Sally,  who  was  carry- 
ing her  valise.  Lehman  stepped  into  the  wagon 
and  it  was  soon  lost  in  the  darkness. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Prior  to  Adrian's  departure  for  the  mission 
field,  Bishop  Lehman  had  made  arrangements  for 
the  head  of  the  foreign  mission,  VanCannon,  to 
write  the  letter  announcing  the  death  of  Adrian. 
Full  instructions  were  given  to  Brother  VanCan- 
non to  detain  Adrian,  at  all  hazards,  until 
Lehman  should  win  the  girl,  even  if  they  had  to 
employ  him  in  the  office  at  exorbitant  wages. 
Lehman  agreed  to  see  to  it  that  it  would  cost  the 
church  nothing,  if  such  had  to  be  resorted  to,  in 
order  to  hold  him.  VanCannon  was  fully 
instructed  as  to  every  circumstance  and  charged 
with  the  duty  of  carrying  out  his  part  of  the  pro- 
gram, to  the  letter,  until  Lehman  should  order 
him  to  let  Adrian  go. 

Adrian  refused  to  deny  that  the  church  taught 
polygamy,  and  refused  to  make  false  representa- 
tions about  the  happiness,  peace,  and  prosperity 
(without  labor),  that  the  missionaries  usually 
claimed  existed  in  Utah;  but  insisted  on  telling 
the  exact  condition  of  everything,  as  he  under- 
stood it.  Many  minor  conditions,  they  also 
insisted,  should  be  misrepresented,  arguing  that 
if  he  told  the  truth  about  the  actual  conditions  of 
all  of  these  things,  he  would  never  make  a  con- 
vert.    His  ultimatum  was: — 

*'I  shall  tell  everything  as  it  exists,  and  teach 
here  as  they  teach  in  Zion,  or  I  will  not  teach  at 

374 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  375 

all.  To  gain  converts  by  deception  and  lying  is 
not  what  I  left  home  to  do.  If  I  am  not  allowed 
to  tell  the  truth,  I  shall  go  home  at  once." 

Therefore,  the  only  alternative  was  to  have  him 
work  at  headquarters,  where  he  took  general 
charge  of  the  books,  and  to  furnish  the  mission- 
aries with  literature  which  should  be  sent  from 
Zion.  He  was  to  receive  as  compensation,  one 
hundred  dollars  per  month,  and  was  retained  in 
this  capacity  for  a  period  of  three  years. 

Lehman  had  two  letters  from  Adrian  in  his  pos- 
session, one  to  Lola  and  the  other  to  his  parents, 
which  he  had  intercepted  at  the  time  he  presented 
the  VanCannon  letter,  which  was  read  by  Lola. 
The  letter  from  Adrian  to  Lola,  intercepted  by 
Lehman,  read  as  follows : — 

Headquarters   of   the    European    Mission  of   the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints, 
Liverpool,  England,  Jime  i,  1871. 
My  dear  Lola: — Having  fully  determined  what 
my  work  will  be  and  where  I  will  be  located  dur- 
ing my  stay  in  England,  I  take  a  few  moments 
from   my   labors,  to   converse   with   my   darling 
through   the  double  medium,    across  the   broad 
Atlantic. 

I  would  have  written  to  you  sooner,  had  it  not 
been  for  a  slight  misunderstanding  I  had  with 
the  head  of  the  mission,  as  to  whether  I  should 
falsify,  or  tell  the  exact  conditions  about  Utah 
and  the  church.  I  told  them  that  I  would  not 
misrepresent  conditions,  under  any  circum- 
stances. They  advised  me  to  deny,  emphatically, 
that  the  church  taught  polygamy  or  that  it  was 
ever  practiced  in  Zion.     I  said  to  them,  upon  this 


37^  THE    FALSE   STAR. 

point,  that  this  feature  of  our  doctrine  had  caused 
me  the  most  bitter  sorrow,  and  that  I  would  say 
as  much  and  tell  the  true  conditions  to  all  who 
might  inquire.  This  did  not  suit  the  brethren, 
so  they  took  me  from  the  mission  field  as  a  public 
teacher,  and  made  me  clerk  or  secretary  of  the 
headquarters  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  dollars 
per  month,  for  a  period  of  three  years.  You  will, 
therefore,  address  me  here. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  last  sad  look  you  gave 
me,  when  I  stepped  into  the  stage,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  my  departure  from  home.  My  heart 
was  almost  broken  on  leaving  you  and  my 
home.  I  hope  you  are  reconciled  ere  this, 
and  that  you  are  enjoying  life  as  you  have 
in  former  years.  O  my  love,  how  I  long 
for  the  day  to  come  when  we  will  meet 
again!  When  I  arrived  at  Zion,  I  was  met 
by  Mr.  Stanton,  who  accompanied  me  as  far  east 
as  Chicago.  He  is  a  good  man  and,  always,  when 
in  his  company,  my  estimation  of  him  grows 
greater.  We  were  together  in  Chicago  three 
days.  Mr.  Stanton  has  a  wide  acquaintance 
there.  He  introduced  me  to  many  of  his  friends, 
all  of  whom  are  among  the  very  best  class. 

Our  people,  especially  the  chief  men  of  the 
church,  have  ever  been  free  to  condemn  the  people 
outside  of  our  organization;  but,  as  I  meet  them, 
although  with  a  strong  prejudice  at  first,  my 
prejudice  soon  vanishes;  for  I  am  forced  to  see 
their  good  qualities,  and  I  pronounce  them 
superior  to  my  people,  that  is  the  members  of  our 
church,  in  many  respects.  People  of  other 
denominations  do  not  practice  polygamy;  nor  do 
the  members  of  their  churches  advocate  any  vice ; 
and,  above  all,  they  do  not  interfere  or  meddle 
with  personal  rights,  such  as  matrimonial  agree- 
ments and  relations.     They  teach  the  doctrine  of 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  377 

monogamy,  and  punish  those,  as  bigamists,  who 
have  more  than  one  wife. 

Oh,  what  happiness  would  now  be  ours,  if  our 
plans  had  not  been  thwarted  by  the  contemptible 
dictation  and  interference  of  the  high  priests  of 
our  church,  with  our  love  aifairs.  Those  plans 
which  were  so  sacred  to  us  and  wholly  our  busi- 
ness, and  ours  alone,  for  our  union  was  approyed 
and  encouraged  by  our  parents,  and  I  verily 
believe  were  approved  of  heaven.  Hearts  are 
joined  in  heaven.  We  have  been  one  for  years — 
one  in  love.  It  has  required  only  the  ceremony 
of  man  to  make  us  husband  and  wife.  God's 
uniting  our  hearts  has  long  since  taken  place: 
"What  therefore  God  hath  joined  together,  let  no 
man  put  asunder."  When  the  priesthood  sought 
my  life,  they  thereby  sought  to  violate  this 
divine  command  which  is  to  me  the  most  sacred 
of  all  the  mandates  of  the  Holy  Bible.  I  would 
rather  be  guilty  of  any  other  crime,  than  that  of 
breaking  asunder  two  hearts  which  God  had 
joined  together.  When  I  witness  the  happiness 
of  those  who  believe  in  monogamy,  my  mind 
drifts  back  to  Utah  to  the  terrible  scenes  of  the 
plurality,  and  I  am  put  to  shame  as  I  stand  a 
living  witness  to  the  wide  contrast. 

O  my  darling  Lola!  As  I  see  this  great  con- 
trast, the  sacred  word  wife  stands  out  in  bold 
relief,  the  sweetest  word  in  the  vocabulary;  but 
the  word  wives,  as  applied  to  one  man  at  the 
same  time,  is  a  perversion  of  the  sacred  word 
and  it  means  the  opposite  extreme.  The  one  is 
pure,  the  other  is  base ;  the  one  according  to  the 
plan  of  God,  the  other  according  to  the  plan  of 
the  prince  of  darkness.  The  one  is  the  highest 
type  of  life  and  civilization,  the  other  prostitution 
and  semi-barbarism. 


378  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

O  my  love,  to  call  you  my  wife  will  be  happi- 
ness supreme.  My  wife  Lola.  How  sweetly  do 
these  words  sound !  To  be  loved  by  one  so  pure, 
so  true — one  whom  I  know  to  be  without  guile — 
is  sufficient  to  give  me  strength  always.  Should 
many  years  intervene  before  I  am  permitted  to 
see  you,  my  love  for  you  will  be  as  strong  as  it 
was  the  morning  we  parted.  The  fire  of  affection 
kindled  in  my  bosom  for  you,  can  never  be 
quenched.  At  first,  three  years  seemed  a 
long  time  to  have  our  union  delayed;  but  they 
will  soon  roll  around,  and  the  happy  day  of  our 
wedding  will  be  the  sweeter.  My  dear  Lola,  to 
love  as  I  love  you,  and  to  know  that  I  am 
loved  in  return,  and  to  have  that  love  interfered 
with  by  the  so-called  high  priests  of  Zion,  almost 
turn  me  completely  against  my  church.  Besides, 
I  do  not  believe  our  leading  churchmen  have  an 
overstock  of  religion.  Circumstances  of  lewdness, 
hypocrisy,  and  deception  convince  me  of  this  fact. 
I  have  observed  very  closely,  since  leaving  home, 
the  actions  and  teaching  of  people  comprising 
other  denominations,  and  I  have  not  been  able, 
in  a  single  instance,  to  substantiate  the  charges 
laid  at  their  door  by  our  elders.  The  scriptures 
teach  that  we  should  judge  a  tree  by  its  fruit,  and 
I  am  becoming  more  convinced  every  day  that 
I  mingle  with  the  members  of  other  churches, 
that  the  fruit  they  bear  is  of  a  superior  quality. 
Of  course,  I  have  not  been  converted  yet  to  the 
belief  that  our  church  is  wrong  in  all  its  teach- 
ings; but  I  do  not  understand  why  crimes  are 
constantly  perpetrated  by  its  leaders  through 
their  agents ;  neither  do  I  comprehend  why  our 
missionaries  are  instructed  to  deny  some  of  our 
teachings  and  to  falsify  as  to  conditions.  False- 
hood, deception,  and  crime,  are  fruits  I  cannot 
relish. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  379 

As  it  grows  late,  I  will  close  with  out  one  word 
more,  when  I  kneel  in  prayer  to  our  Heavenly 
Father,  I  ask  his  protecting  care  over  you,  and 
that  it  may  not  be  long  until  we  meet  again. 
Good-bye  for  to-night.  My  thoughts  are  con- 
stantly with  you.  Kiss  my  mother  for  me  and 
give  my  love  to  all,  retaining  a  greater  portion 
for  yourself.  Write  to  me  at  your  earliest  con- 
venience, as  I  will  be  anxiously  waiting  to  hear 
from  you.     Your  lover,  Adrian." 

Adrian  to  his  parents,  intercepted  by  Leh- 
man:— 

Headquarters  of  the  European  Mission  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  Latter  Day  Saints, 
Liverpool,  England,  June  5,  1871. 
My  dear  Parents : — The  time  seems  long  since 
I  left  home.  It  is  quite  a  new  experience  to  me, 
to  be  away  from  you  so  long  and  among  strangers. 
One  appreciates  the  care  and*  advice  of  parents 
most,  when  he  is  first  tossed  upon  the  sea  of  life 
and  left  to  his  own  resources.  It  has  fallen  to 
my  lot  to  decide  some  things  for  myself,  already, 
without  the  aid  of  your  wise  counsel,  and  I  hope 
you  may  approve  my  actions.  I  remembered  the 
standard  you  gave  me  years  ago,  when  I  was  but 
a  child,  to  always  be  honorable  and  truthful  in  all 
things.  I  did  not  know,  when  I  left  home,  that 
I  was  going  away  to  engage  in  a  money-making 
scheme;  nevertheless  'tis  true.  I  find  myself 
working  for  a  salary,  against  my  will,  far  from 
home  and  sweet  Lola. 

The  heads  of  the  mission,  because  of  differ- 
ences as  to  what  should  be  my  course,  decided  to 
take  me  out  of  the  mission  field  and  place  me  in 
the  office  here,  to  do  close,  hard  work.  I  refused 
and  was  going  back  home,  when  they  agreed  to 


380  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

employ  me,  paying  me  a  salary  for  my  labors. 
I  shall  be  able  to  send  you  fiity  dollars  per  n.onth 
and  live  as  well  as  I  choose.  Enclosed  you  will 
find  exchange  on  New  York  for  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  which  I  will  not  need  under 
present  arrangements.  I  will  forward  my  sav- 
ings, every  six  months,  which  will  be  three  hun- 
dred dollars  at  each  remittance.  You  may  use  it 
if  you  like ;  if  not,  place  it  to  my  credit  in  one  of 
the  banks  at  Zion.  It  will  come  handy,  when  I 
settle  down  to  a  solution  of  the  real  problems  of 
life. 

I  have  not  given  you  the  minutiae  of  everything 
leading  up  to  my  retention  in  the  office ;  but  the 
prime  cause  you  can  learn  by  a  perusal  of  Lola's 
letter.  When  I  write  to  one  I  expect  all  to  know 
the  full  text  of  the  message.  It  may  seem 
strange  that  I  should  refer  you  to  read  my  first 
love  letter;  but  I  know  that  it  will  not  be  kept 
from  you  or  Lola's' parents.  It  breathes  the  story 
of  my  love  in  as  strong  terms  as  I  could  find. 
'Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,'  says  the 
word  of  God.  We  have  always  held  this  a  solemn 
duty,  and  I  assure  you  that  it  has  been  a  delight- 
ful duty.  We  have  always  enjoyed  making  con- 
fidants of  our  parents  in  preference  to  other 
people,  and  learned,  early  in  life,  where  to  go  to 
find  true  sympathy  which  breathes  the  sweet 
spirit  of  a  parent's  protecting  love. 

Could  the  youth  of  the  world  learn  to  consult 
father  and  mother  in  the  important  affairs  of  life, 
and  to  have  no  secrets  from  them,  how  many 
bitter  tears  of  remorse  would  be  eliminated  from 
the  lot  of  man !  As  I  crossed  the  wide  ocean  I 
beheld  many  things  of  beauty,  that  were  both 
new  and  strange  to  me,  and  from  which  many 
lessons  may  be  learned.     A  perfect  sunset  at  sea 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  $8 1 

is  rare.  Usually,  they  are  shrouded  in  mists  and 
clouds ;  but  a  clear  sunset  is  the  glory  of  the  sea 
— beautiful  beyond  description.  It  reminds  me 
of  the  closing  of  a  beautiful  life,  which  is  as  rare 
as  are  the  perfect  sunsets.  The  clouded  sunset 
reminded  me  of  a  life  going  out,  where  remorse 
hung  like  a  pall,  and  dark  secrets  shrouded  the 
fading  memory  like  a  mist,  and  the  soul  passed 
into  the  unknown  amid  shadows  and  mystery. 

I  think  of  you  daily,  and  long  to  be  with  you  in 
the  family  circle.  Give  my  love  and  best  wishes 
to  Jed,  and  tell  him  to  remember  my  parting 
injunction  in  reference  to  my  horses.  Much 
love  to  each  of  you.         Your  son, 

Adrian  Waltham.** 

The  exchange  mentioned  in  Adrian's  letter  was 
made  payable  to  Mr.  Waltham.  Bishop  Lehman 
forged  his  name  and  drew  the  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  at  the  city  of  Zion.  These  two 
letters  of  Adrian's  were  read  in  a  meeting  of  the 
high  council  of  the  holy  priesthood,  and  it  was 
there  decided  that  the  money  should  be  drawn  by 
Lehman,  and  appropriated  toward  paying  Adrian's 
salary.  Before  this  amount  was  all  expended, 
Adrian  would  forward  at  least,  another  draft  of 
three  hundred  dollars  which,  together  with  what 
remained  of  this  draft,  would  cover  the  first  year's 
salary,  lacking  but  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  another  draft  would  come, 
making  the  first -year's  salary  secure  without  any 
expense  whatever  to  Lehman,  and  with  a  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  surplus.  Thus  far  Lehman's 
scheme  was  self-sustaining. 


382  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

At  this  same  meeting,  the  priesthood  decided  to 
wreck  the  two  families  financially  by  presenting 
the  bills  already  explained,  in  order  to  humble 
them  and  continue  to  pay  Adrian  without  loss  to 
Lehman.  Lehman  was  instructed  to  answer 
Adrian's  letter  to  his  parents.  In  order  to  avoid 
intercepting  more  letters  to  Lola,  and  to  keep 
Adrian  in  England,  Lehman  was  to  write  in  the 
proper  way,  in  the  name  of  his  parents,  that  she 
was  dead. 

The  tone  of  Adrian's  letters  so  exasperated 
them,  that  they  decided  that  he  must  be  put  out 
of  the  way  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and 
never,  under  any  circumstances,  should  he  be 
allowed  to  get  back  to  Zion.  They  decided  that 
they  were  fully  justified  in  all  of  this,  because  his 
letters  breathed  the  spirit  of  apostasy,  and 
criticism  for  the  anointed;  that  after  this 
flagrant  violation  of  God's  will,  he  certainly 
ought  to  be  offered  up  as  a  blood  atonement  at  the 
foreign  office — spirited  away  and  disposed  of  in 
the  hush  of  night,  and  no  one  would  be  the  wiser. 
Besides,  it  had  already  been  reported  and  believed, 
here  at  home,  that  he  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the 
Atlantic,  a  victim  to  the  ravages  of  small-pox. 
No  one  would  ever  inquire  about  him,  because 
he  was  already  dead  in  their  minds.  Detection, 
on  the  outside,  was  out  of  the  question,  and  this 
was  ample  to  satisfy  the  conscience  of  the  power- 
ful. The  head  of  the  mission  was,  therefore, 
notified  to  dispatch  Adrian  at  the  earliest  moment 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  383 

possible,  and  to  let  no  human  being  know  what 
they  did,  and  to  let  the  report  of  his  death, 
as  already  made,  stand  as  the  official.  Lehman 
answered  Adrian's  letter  in  the  name  of  his 
parents  as  follows :  — 

'*At  Home. 
Provo,  Utah,  August  i,  1871. 

Our  Beloved  Son : — We  bow  our  heads  in  sor- 
row, as  we  address  our  child,  our  only  son,  at  so 
great  a  distance  from  our  hearth-stone,  in  answer 
to  your  precious  letter  to  us,  and  the  sweet  words 
sent  to  Lola,  who  departed  this  life  four  days 
after  receiving  your  message  from  New  York, 
that  you  had  embarked  for  Liverpool.  Our  sor- 
row at  her  loss  has  been  beyond  the  power  of 
language  to  express. 

She  was  seized  with  a  violent  attack  of  diphther- 
ia, and  in  three  days  passed  to  the  great  beyond. 
Her  last  words  were,  'Give  my  love  to  Adrian.' 
O  dear  son,  while  our  loss  has  been  irreparable, 
we  were  really  glad  that  you  were  not  here  to 
witness  her  terrible  sufferings.  We  have  all 
mourned  unceasingly,  because  of  the  sorrow  that 
we  knew  would  come  to  your  noble  heart,  when 
you  should  know  the  terrible  truth.  She  was  as 
lovely  in  death  as  in  life.  We  tenderly  laid  her 
away  in  the  silent  grave,  where  she  will  sleep 
until  the  resurrection  morn.  Do  not  allow  your 
grief  to  be  too  deep-seated,  dear  son,  and  bear  in 
mind  the  comforting  words  of  Jesus:  'Blessed  are 
they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  comforted. ' 

You  seemed  to  criticise  the  leaders  in  your 
letter  to  us,  as  well  as  in  the  one  to  Lola.  Do  not 
do  this.  They  seem  perfectly  delighted  with  the 
fact  that  you  are  in  the  mission  field.  We  are 
really  glad  to  know  that  you  are  retained  for  the 


384  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

period  of  your  mission  days  at  the  headquarters. 
As  long  as  you  can  be  employed  at  such  labor,  it 
gives  you  not  only  experience,  but  a  little  sum  to 
lay  by  each  month  for  a  rainy  day.  The  holy 
priesthood  are  so  good  to  us  since  you  are  gone ; 
so,  for  the  love  of  heaven,  stay  as  long  as  they 
want  you,  that  our  peace  with  them  may  con- 
tinue. Still  we  believe  they  will  ever  be  good  to 
us  now.  Therefore,  for  the  sake  of  your  loving 
parents,  obey,  to  the  letter,  all  that  they  mark 
out  for  you. 

We  were  especially  happy  to  see,  in  your  own 
hand,  that  you  honor  us  as  you  do.  We  have 
ever  known  this,  but  expression  of  the  same  In 
your  own  words  gave  us  double  pleasure,  espe- 
cially, when  you  are  so  far  away.  Nothing  fur- 
ther has  happened  that  would  be  of  material 
interest  to  you.  The  routine  of  matters  in  the 
neighborhood  continues  the  same.  It  is  hard  for 
us  to  write  or  think  about  anything  but  Lola. 
She  was  as  a  rose  cut  off  in  the  dawn  of  its  beauty, 
but  it  only  demonstrates  the  instability  of  all 
earthly  things. 

At  your  leisure  moments  write  to  us,  and  we 
will  pray  the  Lord  to  comfort  you  in  this,  your 
hour  of  sorest  bereavement.  In  your  deepest 
gloom  lay  every  care  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and 
you  will  be  comforted. 

Your  Devoted  Parents.  * ' 

When  this  letter  reached  Adrian,  it  found  him 
in  high  spirits;  but  the  shock  it  gave  him  was  so 
great  and  his  sorrow  so  intense,  that  he  was  wholly 
unable  to  attend  to  his  duties  for  some  days. 
He  would  gladly  have  quit  his  work  and  gone 
home,  but  for  the  reason,  he  did  not  wish  to  have 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  385 

the  reputation  of  violating  a  contract.  Besides, 
he  felt  that  his  parents  were  faring  much  better 
under  the  treatment  of  the  brethren,  because  of 
his  labors  for  the  church;  therefore,  he  felt  it  his 
duty  to  continue  for  this  reason,  if  for  no  other 
cause.  He  wrote  home  regularly,  and  just  as 
regularly  were  his  letters  intercepted,  read  and 
discussed  at  the  meetings  of  the  high  council,  and 
answered  by  Lehman.  Every  six  months  he 
remitted  three  hundred  dollars.  The  exchange 
was  payable  to  his  father,  whose  name  Lehman 
forged,  and  invariably  collected  the  money,  as  he 
had  done  in  the  case  of  the  first  draft.  The 
amount  went  back  to  Liverpool  to  help  pay 
Adrian's  salary. 

Adrian  was  of  the  disposition  to  make  many 
friends.  He  was  located  at  the  headquarters  of 
the  mission  but  a  short  time  before  he  had  a 
great  number  of  friends  among  the  gentry,  who 
frequently  came  to  the  mission  headquarters  to 
see  him.  Because  of  this  fact,  the  brethren  found 
it  would  be  a  dangerous  proceeding  to  attempt  to 
take  his  life  at  headquarters.  VanCannon 
notified  the  brethren  at  home,  of  the  existing 
circumstances  and  the  danger  that  it  would 
involve.  After  much  discussion  and  planning  at 
home,  and  a  great  deal  of  bickering  back  and 
forth  from  the  foreign  ofhce  to  Zion,  it  was 
finally  decided,  in  prayer  circle  convened,  through 
revelation,  that  when  Adrian  should  start  back 
home,  two  good  trusty  missionaries  should  board 


386  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

the  ship,  accompany  him,  get  his  confidence,  and, 
at  an  opportune  time, — throw  him  overboard. 
This  was  the  only  safe  way  to  get  rid  of  him. 
He  must  not  be  permitted  to  come  back,  as  it 
would  wreck  the  confidence  of  a  great  number  of 
the  Saints  as  to  any  reports,  the  dignitaries  might 
wish  to  circulate  in  the  future. 

Ere  Adrian's  contract  for  the  first  three  years 
had  expired,  Lehman  began  to  fear  that  the  plan 
for  throwing  him  overboard  might  be  a  failure, 
hence  he  prevailed  on  VanCannon  to  seek  ear- 
nestly to  hold  him  for  three  years  longer.  Van- 
Cannon  began  the  negotiations.  Adrian  declined 
to  stay  at  any  price,  at  first;  but,  as  they  urged 
so  hard  and  praised  his  work  so  highly,  he  finally 
agreed  to  stay  at  a  salary  of  two  hundred  dollars 
per  month,  provided  his  parents  approved.  He 
at  once  wrote  home  for  advice  upon  the  subject, 
*at  the  same  time  explaining,  that  in  case  he  con- 
cluded to  stay,  he  would  remit  three  hundred 
dollars  every  two  months.  Lehman  promptly 
answered,  in  the  name  of  his  parents,  urging  him, 
in  the  most  enthusiastic  manner,  to  stay.  On 
receipt  of  this  letter,  Adrian  signed  the  contract 
for  the  second  period.  He  made  the  remittances 
each  alternate  month,  Lehman  forging  the  name 
of  Mr.  Waltham,  collecting  the  money  and  con- 
tinuing the  correspondence  as  before ;  the  funds 
being  used  over  and  over  to  pay  Adrian  for  his 
labors.  ' ; 

He   thought  he   was    corresponding  with  Ms 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  387 

parents  and  that  all  was  well  with  them;  but  they 
had  left  the  Garden  City  with  all  their  worldly  pos- 
sessions, consisting  of  an  old  team  and  wagon, 
and  barely  means  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  get 
to  California.  They  left  the  Garden  City  about  the 
time  Lola  was  taken  away  and  her  parents  sent  to 
Lehman's  ranch  near  St.  George.  The  Wal- 
thams  scarcely  left  a  trace  behind  them.  Jed  had 
gone  to  Park  City  and  was  now  superintending 
the  mine  for  Vernon  Stanton,  in  which  Adrian 
held  an  interest.  This  mine  had  recently  began 
to  pay  good  dividends  each  month.  Nothing  that 
happened  during  the  persecutions  of  the  Wal- 
thams  caused  Jed  so  much  pain,  as  when  Lehman 
took  possession  of  Adrian's  team  at  the  forced 
sale  of  the  Waltham  property. 

This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the  time 
Lola  was  incarcerated  at  the  old  Cedar  City 
prison.  Great  trials  were  now  in  order  for  some 
of  the  anointed;  already  the  government  had 
started  the  investigation  of  some  of  their  crimes. 
Bishop  John  D.  Lee's  trial  was  at  hand  and  to 
this  all  eyes  were  turned. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

The  Mountain  Meadow  massacre  has  been 
referred  to  in  connection  with  the  history  of  Lola 
Allison.  This  dark  and  bloody  crime  was  com- 
mitted in  the  autumn  of  1857. 

A  minute  description  of  that  awful  scene,  the 
trial  of  John  D.  Lee,  his  subsequent  confession 
and  execution,  together  with  other  facts  and 
circumstances  which  have  come  to  light  since,  is 
deemed  necessary  in  order  for  the  reader  to 
thoroughly  understand  her  history. 

The  ill-fated  train  consisted  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-nine  persons.  They  were  honorable 
and  upright  people  from  almost  every  walk  of  life, 
and  were  very  wealthy.  There  were  six  or  eight 
elderly  men  with  their  sons  and  daughters  and 
their  families,  and  a  number  of  young  women  and 
men.  Several  young  men  from  the  eastern 
states,  a  German  doctor,  and  a  son  of  Dr.  Aden, 
of  Kentucky,  were  among  the  number.  The  rest 
of  the  emigrants  were  from  Missouri  and  Arkan- 
sas and  were  related  to  each  other,  so,  after  the 
massacre,  a  whole  relationship,  in  some  instances, 
was  exterminated.  The  children  that  were  after- 
ward sent  back  to  the  states,  in  many  instances, 
could  find  no  relatives. 

There  were  forty  wagons,  a  number  of  car- 
riages, four  to  five  hundred  head  of  horses  and 
cattle,  an  elegant  piano,  the  property  of  Lola's 
388 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  3»9 

parents,  a  number  of  fine  saddle  horses  for  the 
young  ladies  and  gentlemen,  a  great  amount. of 
jewelry,  clothing,  and  minor  articles.  The  booty 
taken  has  been  estimated  at  $300,000. 

They  were  on  their  way  to  Los  Angeles.  No 
sooner  did  they  reach  the  land  of  Zion  than  it  was 
apparent  that  they  were  in  a  hostile  country.  As 
they  traveled  south  from  the  city  of  Zion,  they 
found  the  people  more  and  more  hostile.  George 
A.  Smith,  Brigham's  first  counselor,  preceded 
the  party,  forbidding  the  Saints  to  sell  the  emi- 
grants anything.  There  was  much  secret  work 
going  on,  and  many  consultations  held  at  the  city 
of  Zion  among  the  holy  men  of  the  church,  closing 
with  a  prayer  circle. 

The  emigrants  were  denied  the  right  to  pass 
through  many  of  the  towns,  and  were  compelled 
to  make  a  detour,  in  the  desert.  They  could  pur- 
chase no  provisions,  and  found  that  they  were 
constantly  violating  municipal  ordinances  and 
liable  to  arrest,  though  using  every  endeavor  to 
avoid  trouble.  They  were  joined  at  Beaver  by  a 
Missourian,  who  had  at  one  time  been  a  prisoner 
at  the  Cedar  City  prison,  and  had  gained  his 
liberty  only  through  promises  to  become  an 
ardent  Saint.  He  urged  them  to  hurry  on  for 
life.  Passing  through  Cedar  City,  they  saw  the 
threatening  clouds  of  danger  and  redoubled  their 
energy  to  get  beyond  the  borders  of  the  Ter- 
ritory. 

At  last  they  reached  the  place  known  as  Mount- 


390  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ain  Meadow,  a  glen  on  the  divide  between  the 
great  basin  and  the  Colorado  River. 

The  day  after  the  emigrants  passed  through 
Harmony,  Bishop  Jphn  D.  Lee  called  a  council 
and  stated  that  he  had  received  orders  "To  follow 
and  attack  the  accursed  Gentiles,  and  let  the 
arrows  of  the  Almighty  drink  their  blood. "  He 
next  related  some  alleged  wrongs,  which  were 
claimed  to  have  been  done  to  the  Saints  long 
years  before.  After  dwelling  upon  these  alleged 
wrongs  and  the  tragical  death  of  Joseph  and 
Hyrum  Smith,  he  said: — 

"It  is  according  to  our  divine  pledge,  to  avenge 
the  death  of  these  martyred  Saints  upon  all 
ungodly  Gentiles."  Then,  while  the  assembly 
was  worked  up  to  a  frenzy,  he  called  for  an 
affirmative  vote,  which  was  unanimous,  and  the 
expedition  was  at  once  fitted  out. 

Bishop  John  D.  Lee  was  the  church  Indian 
agent,  and  turned  to  them  as  allies  and  secured 
their  services.  The  militia  of  the  Saints  was 
called  out  by  Col.  W.  H.  Dame,  Maj.  John  D. 
Lee,  Captains  Haight  and  Higby.  Two  of  the 
men  in  the  companies  sat  up  all  night  conversing 
and  praying,  after  having  been  ordered  out  and 
while  the  supply  wagons  were  being  filled.  They 
asked  the  forgiveness  of  God  for  what  they  were 
compelled  to  do  against  their  will. 

The  Indians  opened  the  attack  by  creeping 
down  a  gulch  near  where  the  emigrants  were 
encamped,  opening  fire  on  them,  while  they  were 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  39 1 

at  breakfast,  and  wounding  some  ten  or  twelve  in 
this  attack.  It  was  a  complete  surprise  to  the 
emigrants,  who  seized  their  arms,  shoved  their 
wagons  together,  sunk  the  wheels  into  the  earth, 
and  put  themselves  in  a  condition  of  defense. 
They  did  not  think  for  a  moment,  that  enough 
Ute  Indians  could  be  assembled  in  that  vicinity  to 
attack  a  train  of  sixty  armed  men,  and  had  begun 
to  feel  a  sense  of  relief,  as  they  were  getting  out 
of  the  settlements  of  the  hostile  Saints. 

The  resistance  of  the  emigrants  was  far 
greater  than  the  anointed  had  calculated  upon. 
They  made  trenches,  and  there,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  they  maintained  a  siege  for  almost 
a  week,  keeping  the  merciless  Indians,  as  they 
supposed,  at  bay.  The  shots  were  constantly 
heard  at  Hamlin's  ranch,  a  sbort  distance  away, 
and  squads  of  Saints  were  going  to  and  from  the 
farm,  eating  and  drinking  at  the  place  and  amus- 
ing themselves  with  games  and  in  various  ways. 
They  held  the  ''ungodly  Gentiles"  in  their  grasp 
and  could  afiford  to  divide  time  and  slaughter  ad 
libitum ;  but  grew  tired  of  the  fun,  as  they  termed 
it,  at  the  expiration  of  a  week,  and  resolved  upon 
strategy  in  order  to  end  the  work.  Hitherto, 
they  had  all  been  disguised  as  Indians. 

The  firing  now  ceased,  the  weary  and  heart-sick 
emigrants  hoped  and  prayed  for  relief,  believing 
that  their  savage  foes  had  given  up  the  attack, 
when  they  saw  at  the  upper  end  of  the  gulch  in 
which  they  were  located,  a  wagon  loaded  with 


392  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

white  men.  The  men  in  the  wagon  raised  a 
white  flag,  when  a  glad  shout  of  joy  and  wel- 
come rang  through  the  ranks  of  the  emigrants 
who  were  delighted  at  the  approach  of  men  of 
their  own  race.  The  emigrants  then  held  up  a 
little  girl  dressed  in  pure  white,  as  an  emblem  of 
peace,  to  answer  the  signal.  This  child  was  the 
pride  of  her  parents,  her  grandparents,  and  was 
a  general  favorite  of  the  whole  company.  When 
her  father  held  her  aloft,  he  bore  the  sweetest 
emblem  that  was  ever  used  as  a  signal  of  peace — 
a  signal  to  the  blackest-hearted  fiends  that  ever 
disgraced  the  civilized  world. 

The  captains  of  the  emigrants  came  out  and 
met  Bishop  Lee  and  his  staff,  when  they  arranged 
for  a  surrender.  The  emigrants  were  to  give  up 
everything  they  had,  including  their  arms,  and 
to  be  taken  back  to  the  settlement  and  cared  for 
until  the  "war  with  the  Indians,"  as  the  Saints 
deceitfully  termed  it,  was  over. 

Under  this  agreement,  sixty  men,  forty-one 
women  and  forty-eight  children  surrendered  and 
started  to  return  under  the  protection  of  the 
Saints,  to  Zion.  In  front  was  a  wagon  driven  by 
Saints,  which  contained  the  men  who  were 
wounded  in  the  siege.  Next  came  the  women 
and  children,  and  lastly,  the  men.  On  each  side 
of  the  men  marched  the  saintly  militia,  while 
there  were  mounted  men  in  the  rear,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  intercept  and  slay  any  who  might 
attempt  to  get  away.     There  was  a  hollow  across 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  393 

the  road  at  this  point,  and  on  each  side  of  the 
highway,  as  it  enters  the  ravine,  were  rocks  and 
brush  where  the  Indians  lay  in  ambush. 

The  women  were  talking  exultingly  o  er  their 
rescue  from  the  savage  Utes,  and  thanked  God 
that  they  were  now  under  the  protection  of  white 
men.  Every  detail  was  in  perfect  readiness,  as 
arranged  by  revelation  received  in  prayer  circle. 
As  the  wagons  crossed  the  ravine,  and  the  women 
and  children  were  just  entering  it,  Mephisto,  in 
the  person  of  Ike  Haight,  a  popular  Saint,  was 
standing  on  the  bluff  above.  He  waved  his 
hand  above  his  head  as  a  signal,  gave  the  mur- 
derous command,  "halt!  fire  I"  In  an  instant 
Mormonism  showed  its  true  character — treachery. 
They  turned  their  guns,  almost  touching  their 
victims,  w^hom,  a  short  time  before,  they  had 
solemnly  promised  to  protect,  and  discharged  a 
volley,  when  almost  every  man  of  the  emigrants 
fell.  Involuntarily,  the  horrified  women  and 
children  ran  screaming  to  where  their  fathers, 
husbands,  sons,  and  lovers  lay  dead  or  dying. 
The  fiends  rushed  upon  them  shooting,  stabbing 
and  braining  them.  In  twenty  minutes,  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-six  loyal  American  citizens  lay 
dead  or  dying.  Every  circumstance  of  horror 
was  added  to  the  scene.  The  Saints  cut  and  tore 
the  rings  from  their  fingers,  tore  the  jewels  from 
the  ears  of  the  w^omen,  stripped  the  clothing  from 
all  the  bodies;  then,  with  fiendish,  obscene  lan- 
guage and  profane  yells,  spit  upon,  and  trampled 


394  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

the  faces  of  their  victims.  One  lovely  maid  knelt 
and  prayed  to  the  son  of  Bishop  Lee  that  she 
might  live.  He  hesitated,  when  his  bishop  father 
came  and  shot  her  through  the  head.  Several 
sought  to  flee,  only  to  be  slain  by  the  mounted 
Saints.  Two  young  girls  ran  down  the  ravine 
and  beyond  the  ridge  to  a  place  where  an 
Indian  boy,  named  Albert,  was  hid  to  watch  the 
butchery.  They  begged  him  to  save  them.  He 
directed  them  to  hide  in  the  thicket.  In  a  few 
minutes,  Bishop  Lee  and  High  Counselor  Bill 
Stewart  came  across  the  ravine  on  their  horses, 
at  full  speed,  and  with  vile  curses  demanded  to 
know  "What  become  of  the  young  Gentile 
wenches."  Albert  dared  not  refuse  to  disclose 
their  hiding  place.  They  were  dragged  from  the 
brush,  when  they  knelt  before  the  bishop  pray- 
ing for  mercy.  They  promised  to  be  his  slaves 
and  never  betray ;  but  without  murmuring,  they 
would  work  for  him  always.  One  of  them  clung 
to  his  knees,  he  dashed  her  cruelly  away,  throw- 
ing her  upon  her  back,  when  he  placed  his  saintly 
knee  upon  her  breast,  and  spitting  tobacco  juice 
in  her  eyes,  he  cut  her  throat  from  ear  to  ear. 
Her  companion  fled  from  the  sight ;  but  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  bishop,  who  struck  her  with  a  jagged 
stone  on  the  back  of  the  head,  killing  her  in- 
stantly. These  two  bodies  were  overlooked  by 
the  parties  who  attended  to  the  burying  of  the 
dead,  and  lay  there  untouched  by  the  wild  beasts 
and  birds  for  a  period  of  two  weeks.     Hamlin 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  395 

made  a  trip  to  the  city  of  Zion,  and  when  he 
returned,  the  young  Indian  Albert  showed  the 
bodies  to  him,  and  they  were  buried  in  a  sand  pit. 
Hamlin  stated,  afterward,  that  there  was  not 
the  mark  of  a  tooth  on  either  body  and  no  signs 
of  decay,  so  pure  was  the  air.  Their  countenances 
were  as  if  death  had  just  overtaken  them. 

Counselor  Stewart  carefully  surveyed  the  array 
of  dead  bodies,  and  finished  with  his  bowie  knife, 
those  who  showed  any  signs  of  life.  Three  of 
the  men  escaped  the  main  butchery.  The  night 
before  the  fatal  day,  the  emigrants  carefully 
drafted  a  document,  describing  therein  their  mis- 
erable condition.  It  was  addressed  to  "Masons, 
Odd  Fellows,  Baptists,  Methodists  and  all  good 
people  in  the  States."  It  was  signed  by  so  many 
of  each  lodge  or  church.  The  three  young  men 
mentioned,  were  chosen  because  of  their  fleetness 
to  transport  the  message  back  to  the  land  of 
humane  beings.  They  crawled  down  the  hollow 
and  escaped,  but  were  followed  and  two  of  them 
were  murdered  the  next  night.  The  third 
reached  as  far  as  the  "Last  Point,"  on  the  Santa 
Clara,  where  Ira  Hatch  and  company  overtook 
and  murdered  him.  Jacob  Hamlin  obtained 
possession  of  the  paper  and  preserved  it  a  num- 
ber of  years,  as  a  relic.  Bishop  Lee  learned  that 
it  was  in  existence,  forced  him  (Hamlin)  to  yield 
the  document  to  him,  and  administered  a  severe 
rebuke  to  him,  then  destroyed  it. 

One  man  escaped  from  the  wagon  where  the 


396  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

wounded  were  and  was  never  heard  from  after- 
ward. Seventeen  children  were  saved  alive. 
One  was  shot  through  the  arm  and  lost  the  use  of 
it.  They  were  all  distributed  among  the  families 
of  the  Saints.  Two  years  later  they  were  all 
returned  to  the  States,  except  the  one  that  Kling- 
ensmith  had  taken.  The  property  taken  was 
divided  among  the  Saints,  giving  the  Indians  the 
provisions  and  ammunition,  who  complained  that 
the  Saints  kept  much  more  than  their  share. 
Some  of  the  property  was  sold  at  Cedar  City  at 
public  auction.  Much  merriment  was  made  by 
the  Saints  at  the  sale.  The  property  being  jocu- 
larly styled,  "Property  taken  at  the  siege  of 
Sebastopol. "  The  clothing  stripped  from  the 
dead  and  dying,  spotted  by  blood,  perforated  by 
bullets  and  bowie  knives,  was  placed  in  the  cellar 
of  the  tithing  office  of  the  Saints  at  Cedar  City, 
and  sold  at  private  sale.  The  best  stock,  consist- 
ing of  high-bred  horses  and  cattle,  the  carriages, 
money,  and  jewelry,  was  distributed  among  the 
dignitaries.  Forty  head  of  cattle  were  driven  to 
Zion  and  traded  to  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Hooper  for 
boots  and  shoes.  Thirteen  years  later,  this  man 
was  in  Congress  as  a  delegate  from  Utah,  and 
while  there,  he  stood  before  that  august  body  and 
with  great  solemnity,  called  on  God  as  a  witness 
to  the  fact  that  the  Saints  had  nothing  whatever 
to  do  with  the  awful  affair.  Bishop  Francis 
Lehman,  of  Filmore  and  Provo,  got  the  beautiful 
piano,  belonging  to  Lola's  parents. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  397 

Now  that  everything  was  completed,  Bishops 
Lee  and  Klingensmith  reported  officially  to  the 
Prophet  Brigham  Young,  who  was  Governor  and 
ex-officio  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  hav- 
ing been  made  so  by  President  Franklin  Pierce. 
Brigham  gave  instructions  to  all,  in  this  manner: 
*' Don't  talk  about  this  thing,  even  among  your- 
selves— especially,  let  the  women  keep  still  about 
it — let  it  be  forgotten  as  soon  as  possible." 

Great  advice  for  an  innocent  prophet,  with  this 
law  on  the  statutes,  to  wit:  "All  persons,  who 
after  full  knowledge  that  a  felony  has  been  com- 
mitted, conceal  it  from  the  magistrate,  or  harbor 
and  protect  the  person  charged  with  or  convicted 
thereof,  are  accessories."  And  if  they  counseled, 
-aided,  or  abetted,  though  not  present,  they  were 
guilty  as  principals. 

Haight  and  Lee  were  sent  to  the  Legislature 
afterward,  attended  the  Governor's  receptions 
and  balls,  and  each  was  given  a  new  young  wife, 
sealed  to  them  in  the  endowment  house,  by  the 
prophet  as  a  reward  for  their  valor.  For  thirteen 
years  Lee  remained  a  bishop.  Dame  and  Haight 
remained  bishops  until  death,  and  Higby  became 
more  prominent  in  the  church. 

A  new  road  was  laid  out,  that  the  ungodly  pass- 
ing through  the  country  would  have  no  occasion 
to  pass  through  Mountain  Meadow,  and  per- 
chance discover  something.  All  was  now  silent 
as  the  grave  on  that  subject.  The  Deseret  News, 
the  official  organ  of  the  church,  4^4  ;pot  mention 


39^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

it  in  its  columns.  The  Saints  began  to  rest 
secure  and  feel  that  the  awful  deed  was  past 
detection ;  but  the  bosom  of  human  beings  is  not 
made  for  the  habitation  of  such  secrets.  The 
monster  grew  beyond  their  control,  after  a  time 
of  reflection.  Some  apostatized  and  left  the 
Territory.  A  brief  and  imperfect  account  of  the 
massacre  appeared  in  a  California  paper.  The 
Deseret  News,  knowing  all  about  the  horrible 
affair,  officially  denounced  the  whole  matter  as  a 
lie. 

It  was  soon  afterward  forced  to  admit  that 
there  had  been  a  massacre;  but  claimed  the 
whole  as  being  the  work  of  the  Indians,  and  this 
was  tenaciously  held  to  by  the  Saints,  until  they 
were  forced  by  the  meager  evidence,  which  grad- 
ually came  to  light,  to  acknowledge  guilt.  An 
investigation  by  Judge  Cradlebaugh  was  made  in 
1858,  and  a  more  thorough  investigation  in  1859 
by  Gen.  W.  H.  Carleton,  who  collected  and  bur- 
ied the  bones  and  erected  a  rude  monument, 
with  a  cross,  over  the  spot  to  their  memory. 
Eleven  years  later,  the  Federal  officials  made  a 
more  thorough  investigation,  at  which  time  the 
Saints  admitted  that  Bishop  Lee  was  the  leader, 
and  ostensibly  expelled  him  from  the  church.  He 
still  held  the  position  of  church  Indian  agent. 
He  made  his  headquarters  in  the  rocky  cliffs,  far 
down  in  Pareah  Canon  of  the  Colorado.  The 
anointed  circulated  strange  stories  about  him; 
once  that  he  w^s  killed,  and  again  that  he  had 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  399 

turned  Indian  entirely,  and  as  such  was  chief  of 
one  of  their  tribes.  As  soon  as  he  was  deprived 
of  his  standing  in  the  church,  the  Saints  changed 
their  tone,  in  a  day,  from  love  and  praise  to  the 
most  bitter  denunciations,  and  urged  that  he 
should  be  mobbed  at  once. 

Such  is  a  brief  history  of  the  dastardly  crime  of 
Mountain  Meadow.  Humanity  stands  appalled, 
when  reflecting  upon  the  scene  in  all  of  its  hid- 
eousness.  A  more  infamous  crime  was  never 
committed,  and  this  in  free  and  enlightened 
America,  within  the  domain  of  her  emblem  of 
Liberty. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

Bishop  Lee  was  arrested  on  a  warrant,  issued 
pursuant  to  the  indictment  found  against  him  at 
Provo,  which  has  been  referred  to  Hon.  Jacob 
S.  Boreman,  Judge.  U.  S.  Marshal  Owens 
arrested  him  while  visiting  his  four  wives  at  Pan- 
guicb,  on  the  Sevier  River.  Much  interest  was 
manifest  throughout  the  nation,  in  the  trial ;  and 
when  it  came  on  for  hearing  at  Beaver,  a  mighty- 
concourse  of  people,  officers,  and  reporters,  from 
both  the  east  and  the  wast  ware  thsre. 

The  most  sanguine,  in  their  claims  of  innocence 
for  the  Saints,  were  forced  to  acknowledge  their 
guilt. 

The  prosecution  was  directed  by  District  Attor- 
ney Wm.  C.  Gary  and  Hon.  R.  N.  Baskin,  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  while  Messrs.  J.  G.  Sutherland,  G.  C. 
Bates,  Judge  Hoge  (a  Saint),  Wells,  Spicer,  also 
of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  W.  W.  Bishop,  of  Pioch, 
Nev.,  were  for  the  defendant. 

The  Saints,  who  were  called  as  jurors,  swore 
on  their  voir  dire,  that  they  had  neither  formed 
nor  expressed  an  opinion,  nor  did  they  know  any- 
thing about  the  case.  One  swore  that  he  had 
lived  in  the  same  town  that  Lee  lived  in,  but  had 
never  heard  his  name  connected  with  the  crime. 
Another  that  he  had  never  heard  of  the  monstrous 
affair  at  all;  and  still  another,  that  he  was  raised 
in  the  neighborhood  and  had  visited  th^  MPUnt* 
4«9 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  4OI 

ain  Meadow,  ^aw  the  monument,  but  never 
inquired  why  it  was  there  and  had  never  heard  of 
anything  unusual  taking  place  there.  The  ex- 
amination was  one  absurdity  after  another.  The 
prosecution  gave  up  in  despair,  after  getting 
three  Gentiles;  and  allowed  the  rest  of  the  panel 
to  be  selected  from  the  Saints. 

The  first  witness  related,  in  general,  the 
appearance  of  the  ground  a  few  days  subsequent 
to  the  massacre. 

The  first  witness  of  importance  was  Phillip 
Klingensmith.  When  he  took  the  stand,  a  death- 
like stillness  filled  the  room,  and  every  eye  was 
riveted  upon  him,  while  every  ear  was  strained 
to  catch  his  words.  He  had  been  indicted  with 
the  rest,  and  a  nolle  entered  as  to  him.  He 
began  in  slow  and  measured  words,  approaching 
stupidity.  He  gfradually  grew  in  animation  and 
vigor,  his  eyes  gleamed  and  flashed  like  fire,  the 
veins  and  muscles  of  his  face  and  neck  stood  out 
like  cords.  His  whole  being  seemed  to  work 
responsive,  and  in  sympathy  with  the  horrible 
truths  he  was  relating.  While  he  related  the 
most  cruel,  heartless,  and  blood-curdling  scene, 
all  eyes  turned  to  Lee;  and  as  he  referred  to 
the  horrible  killing  of  the  beautiful  woman, 
who  held  in  her  arms  the  little  girl  dressed  in 
white,  that  was  held  up  as  the  flag  of  truce,  his 
eyes  protruded  as  if  they  would  burst  from  their 
sockets.  His  light  hair  stood  on  end,  his  fea- 
tures were  distorted,  and  he  quivered  from  head 


402  THE   FALSE    STAR. 

to  foot.  He  clutched  at  his  throat  as  he  gasped 
for  breath,  his  teeth  shone  ghastly,  for  he  tasted 
death  in  that  terrible  hour.  He  beat  his  breast 
with  his  fists,  and  clutched  his  hair  as  he  cried  in 
wild  despair : — 

'*0h,  the  angel  child,  who  was  dressed  in  white, 
was  the  child  that  was  never  sent  back  to  her 
friends !  I  took  her  as  mine  and  she  was  adopted 
by  Howard  and  Mary  Allison,  who  named  her 
Lola.  O  sweet  Lola,  would  that  all  of  us  had 
died  ere  we  had  committed  this  vile  injury  upon 
you." 

As  he  closed  these  words,  he  started  to  fall  from 
his  chair  when  an  officer  caught  him.  There 
was  murmuring  and  much  confusion  in  the  crowd 
for  a  few  moments.  Vernon  Stanton  clasped  his 
hand  to  his  heart,  and  said:  *'0  my  God!  Can 
it  be  possible?"  Many  who  stood  near  him 
turned  to  him  for  an  instant,  wondering  why  a 
spectator  should  be  so  much  affected. 

The  prosecution,  after  putting  on  several  other 
witnesses,  and  making  a  case  showing  the  guilt  of 
the  defendant  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt,  then 
rested. 

The  defense  began  and  attempted  to  establish, 
by  trumped-up  evidence,  an  old  slander  invented 
in  1859,  to  deceive  Judge  Cradlebaugh,  to  the 
effect  that  the  emigrants  had  poisoned  a  spring 
at  Corn  Creek,  near  Filmore.  Also,  that  they 
had  poisoned  the  flesh  of  an  ox  and  given  it  to 
the  Indians.     In  every  charge  brought  against 


THE   FALSE   STAR,  4^3 

the  emigrants,  they  were  completely  exonerated, 
the  charges  refuted  and  proven  to  be  self-pre- 
serving slanders  of  the  blackest  hue. 

The  prophet  claimed  to  be  physically  unable  to 
attend  the  trial ;  but  an  affidavit  was  carefully 
prepared,  denying  his  complicity  in  the  crime, 
which  he  tried  hard  to  get  admitted  as  evidence, 
but  failed.  It  was  then  published  and  distributed 
throughout  the  land. 

The  case  of  the  prosecution  in  every  particular 
was  proven  clearly,  but  the  brethren  who  were 
on  the  jury,  had  been  instructed  by  the  priesthood 
and  would  not  convict.  Although  they  had 
sworn  that  they  knew  nothing  of  the  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  crime,  yet  as  soon  as 
they  were  in  the  jury  room,  they  proceeded  to 
contradict  the  evidence  for  the  prosecution,  by 
facts  within  their  own  knowledge.  First,  they 
installed  a  jack-Mormon,  J.  C.  Hinster,  as  fore- 
man. Then  each  delivered  a  typical  Mormon 
sermon  by  denouncing  in  the  most  scathing 
terms,  the  emigrants,  the  prosecuting  attorneys, 
the  Federal  officers,  the  United  States,  in  fact, 
against  all  who  were  not  Saints  on  the  subserv- 
ient-tool plan.  It  was,  indeed,  a  strange  proceed- 
ing for  a  petit  jury,  perhaps  the  strangest  the 
world  has  yet  witnessed.  For  two  days  the  three 
Gentiles  smiled  grimly  on  the  Saints,  saying  lit- 
tle, but  noting  carefully  the  manner  in  which 
these  would-be  jurors  committed  themselves. 
They  finally  agreed  to  a  disagreement,  then  filed 
into  court 


404  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

When  the  result  was  announced,  a  storm  of 
wrath  and  indignation  swept  through  the  land, 
before  which  the  priesthood  quailed,  and  through 
a  revelation,  the  anointed  decided  that  Lee  must 
be  given  up. 

This  decided  upon,  all  things  were  now  prop- 
erly arranged  for  the  bishop's  conviction  at  the 
next  trial.  Daniel  H.  Wells  was  sent  to  see  that 
all  was  done  according  to  counsel. 

The  next  trial  came  on  regularly  for  hearing  in 
September,  1876,  before  a  jury  of  twelve  servile 
Saints.  It  was  utterly  impossible  to  get  a  Gen- 
tile on  the  jury,  as  all  had  heard  or  read  of  the 
case  and  had  formed  an  opinion  on  its  merits ; 
but  all  the  Saints  called  had  never  heard  of  such 
a  thing  as  a  massacre,  and  had  not  formed  nor 
expressed  an  opinion  in  the  case.  They  were 
model  jurymen  according  to  their  oath. 

Bishop  Lee  saw,  before  his  counsel  did,  that 
the  brethren  had  decided  to  betray  him.  The 
Mormon  witnesses  now  remembered  all  that  they 
had  forgotten  at  the  former  trial.  Samuel  Knight 
and  James  McMurdy  gave  evidence  that  they 
saw  Lee  brain  one  woman  with  a  little  child  in 
her  arms,  and  beat  one  man  to  death  with  a  gun, 
also,  that  he  shot  others,  and  then  went  to  the 
wagon  and  shot  the  wounded  men  with  a  pistol. 
At  this  point.  Bishop  Lee  broke  down;  and, 
when  again  in  his  cell,  he  walked  the  floor,  curs- 
ing-the  Mormon  leaders  who  had  betrayed  him, 
and  raved  like  a  maniac,  as  he  heaped  vile  epi- 
thets upon  them. 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  405 

The  evidence  was  all  in,  and  the  instructions  of 
the  court  given ;  when  the  jury  retired  to  delib- 
erate. They  had  received  instructions  from  their 
masters  before  entering  the  box  to  be  sworn  as 
jurors  in  the  case ;  therefore,  no  deliberation  was 
necessary,  consequently  they  soon  returned  with 
a  verdict  of  "guilty." 

An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  Supreme  court, 
where  the  judgment  was  confirmed.  Bishop  Lee 
was  sentenced  by  Judge  Boreman,  "To  be  shot 
on  the  23d  day  of  March,  1877."  William  Nel- 
son, U.  S.  Marshal,  selected  Mountain  Meadow, 
as  the  place  of  execution.  Judge  Boreman  did 
not  favor  this,  as  he  said  it  savored  of  revenge  as 
well  as  spectacular  display. 

He  was  executed  one  hundred  yards  east  of 
the  monument.  The  bishop  was  cheerful  and 
happy  to  the  last  moment.  He  there  confessed  to 
Rev.  Stokes,  a  Methodist  minister,  who  was  in 
attendance,  saying: — 

**I  killed  five  of  the  emigrants  with  my  own 
hand." 

This  fact  he  had  ever  strenuously  denied  be- 
fore. The  scene  was  then  photographed,  with 
Lee  sitting  on  his  coffin.  He  requested  that  one 
should  be  given  to  each  of  his  three  faithful 
wives.  He  made  a  brief  address,  then  seating 
himself  on  his  coffin,  the  five  soldiers  detailed  to 
do  the  shooting,  took  their  stand.  Marshal  Nelson 
gave  the  command : — 

"Make  ready!     Aim!     Fire!" 


4o6  THE    FALSE    StAR. 

Simultaneously  five  rifle  shots  resounded  and 
Lee  fell  back  lifeless,  with  five  wounds  in  the 
region  of  his  heart.  His  muscles  relaxed,  he 
quivered  and,  with  a  faint  smile,  expired. 

Thus  ended  the  earthly  career  of  the  only  man 
who  ever  suffered  the  just  penalty  of  this  atro- 
cious crime,  and  the  only  man  who  ever  lost  caste 
with  the  Saints  because  of  it,  and  that  only  when 
forced  by  public  indignation  of  an  outraged  peo- 
ple of  one  of  the  best  and  most  highly  civilized 
nations  of  earth. 

Prior  to  his  death,  the  bishop  wrote  a  confes- 
sion, from  which  the  following  is  taken : — 

' '  Those  with  me  at  that  time,  were  acting  under 
orders  from  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter 
Day  Saints.  The  horrid  deeds  then  committed, 
were  done  as  a  duty  which  we  believed  we  owed 
to  God  and  our  church.  We  were  all  sworn  to 
secrecy  before  and  after  the  massacre.  The 
penalty  for  giving  information  concerning  it  was 
death. 

"In  the  month  of  September,  1857,  the  com- 
pany of  emigrants,  known  as  the  'Arkansas  Com- 
pany,' arrived  at  Parowan,  Iron  County,  Utah, 
on  their  way  to  California.  At  Parowan,  young 
Aden,  one  of  the  company,  saw  and  recognized 
one  William  Laney,  a  Mormon  resident  of  Paro- 
wan. Aden  and  his  father  had  rescued  Laney 
from  an  anti-Mormon  mob  in  Tennessee  several 
years  before,  and  saved  his  life.  He  (Laney),  at 
the  time  he  was  attacked  by  the   mob,   was   a 


The  false  star.  407 

Mormon  missionary  in  Tennessee.  Laney  was 
glad  to  see  his  friend  and  benefactor,  and  invited 
him  to  his  house,  and  gave  him  some  garden- 
sauce  to  take  back  to  the  camp  with  him. 

"The  same  evening  it  was  reported  to  Bishop 
(Colonel)  Dame,  that  Laney  had  given  potatoes 
and  onions  to  the  man  Aden,  one  of  the  emi- 
grants. When  the  report  was  made  to  Bishop 
Dame,  he  raised  his  hand  and  crooked  his  little 
finger  in  a  significant  manner  to  one  Barney  Car- 
ter, his  brother-in-law,  and  one  of  the  'Angels  of 
Death.'  Carter,  without  another  word,  walked 
out,  went  to  Laney 's  house  with  a  long  picket  in 
his  hand,  called  Laney  out,  and  struck  him  a 
heavy  blow  on  the  head,  fracturing  his  skull,  and 
left  him  on  the  ground  for  dead.  C.  Y.  Webb 
and  Isaac  Newman,  president  of  the  'High 
Council,'  both  told  me  that  they  saw  Dame's 
maneuvers.  James  McGuffee,  then  a  resident  of 
Parowan — but  through  oppression  has  been  forced 
to  leave  there,  is  now  a  merchant  in  Pahrangat 
valley,  near  Pioche,  Nev. — knows  these  facts. 

"Some  two  weeks  after  the  deed  was  done, 
Isaac  C.  Haight  sent  me  to  report  to  Governor 
Young  in  person.  I  asked  him  why  he  did  not 
send  a  written  report.  He  replied  that  I  could 
tell  him  more  satisfactorily  than  he  could  write, 
and  if  I  would  stand  up  and  shoulder  as  much  of 
the  responsibility  as  I  could  conveniently,  that  it 
would  be  a  feather  in  my  cap  some  day,  and  that 
I   would  get  a  celestial  salvation,  but  the  man 


4o8  THE   FALSE    STAR. 

that  shrunk  from  it  now  would  go  to  hell.  I  went 
and  did  as  I  was  commanded.  Brigham  asked 
me  if  Isaac  C.  Haight  had  written  a  letter  to  him. 
1  replied,  'Not  by  me,  but  he  wished  me  to 
report  in  person,'  'All  right,'  said  Brigham. 
'Were  you  an  eye-witness?'  *To  most  of  it,'  was 
my  reply.  Then  I  proceeded  to  give  him  a  full 
history  of  all.  I  told  him  of  the  killing  of  the 
women  and  children,  and  the  betraying  of  the 
company;  that,  I  told  him,  I  was  opposed  to; 
but  I  did  not  say  to  him  to  what  extent  I  was 
opposed  to  it,  only  that  I  was  opposed  to  the 
shedding  of  innocent  blood.  'Why,'  said  he,  'you 
differ  from  Isaac  (Haight),  for  he  said  there  was 
not  a  drop  of  innocent  blood  in  the  whole  com- 
pany. ' 

"When  I  was  through,  he  said  it  was  awful, 
that  he  cared  nothing  about  the  men,  but  the 
women  and  children  were  what  troubled  him.  I 
said :  '  President  Young,  you  should  either  release 
men  from  their  obligation,  or  sustain  them  when 
they  do  what  they  have  entered  into  the  most 
sacred  obligations  to  do.'  He  replied:  'I  will 
think  over  the  matter,  and  make  it  a  subject  of 
prayer,  and  you  may  come  back  in  the  morning 
and  see  me.'  I  did  so.  He  said:  'John,  I  feel 
first-rate.  I  asked  the  Lord,  if  it  was  all  right 
for  the  deed  to  be  done,  to  take  away  the  vision 
of  the  deed  from  my  mind,  and  the  Lord  did  so, 
and  I  feel  first-rate.  It  is  all  right.  The  only 
fear  I  have  is  of  traitors. '     He  told  me  never  to 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  409 

lisp  it  to  any  mortal  being,  not  even  to  Brother 
Heber.  President  Young  has  always  treated  me 
with  the  friendship  of  a  father  since,  and  has 
sealed  several  women  to  me  since,  and  has  made 
my  house  his  home  when  in  that  part  of  the  Ter- 
ritory— until  danger  has  threatened  him.  * ' 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

When  Lola  reached  the  inside  of  the  first  room 
of  the  old  prison,  followed  by  Old  Sally,  her 
heart  sank  within  her  as  she  noted  the  surround- 
ings. The  walls  and  ceiling  were  black  from 
smoke  and  dirt  and  draped  with  cob-webs.  A 
rude  bedstead  with  scanty  bed-clothing,  stood  in 
one  corner,  an  old  table  with  one  leaf  off,  a  stool 
chair  with  the  back  off  and  a  nail  keg  for  seats, 
a  wrecked  trunk,  a  dilapidated  cupboard  with  a 
dozen  or  more  odd  dishes,  a  small  cook  stove 
cracked  and  rusty,  a  very  few  cooking  utensils, 
an  old,  dingy  towel  hanging  on  a  rack,  a  bat- 
tered wash  pan  on  a  small  box,  constituted  the 
furniture  of  the  room. 

As  she  heard  the  dull  sound  of  her  own  feet  on 
the  bare  floor  of  that  dismal,  dreary  place,  a 
pang  of  intense  grief  struck  terror  to  her  soul, 
and  as  she  heard  the  clank  of  the  heavy  lock 
when  Old  Sally  turned  the  key  after  her,  a  shud- 
der passed  through  her  frame  that  made  her  stag- 
ger. She  could  not  hear  the  sound  of  Old  Sally's 
step  as  she  noiselessly  moved  around  the  room, 
for  the  old  woman  wore  rags  bound  around  her 
feet  instead  of  shoes. 

**Wall,  how'd  yer  like  yer  new  quarters,  hey?" 
queried  Old  Sally,  as  she  shoved  the  remnant 
of  the  chair  for  Lola  to  sit  upon.  Lola  seated 
410 


THE   FALSE   STAR.  4II 

herself,  half  unconscious  of  her  movements.  Old 
Sally  sat  down  on  the  nail  keg,  as  she  con- 
tinued : 

** Don't  yer  think  yer'd  a'  done  better  to  a' 
tuck  the  Bish,  and  not  a'  come  down  here  to  stay 
wi'  a  fine  lookin'  old  critter  like  me,  hey?" 

Lola  sat  in  profound  silence.  It  was  growing 
dark  in  the  room,  Old  Sally  arose  and  lit  a  lamp, 
which  consisted  of  several  strands  of  cotton  rags, 
twisted  together  and  coiled  in  a  small  tin  basin 
filled  with  grease,  the  lighted  end  of  the  rags 
lying  over  the  edge.  The  old  witch  set  the  light 
on  the  table,  seated  herself  again,  crossed  her 
legs,  raised  her  left  hand  to  her  chin,  as  the  elbow 
rested  on  her  knee,  and  gesticulating  with  her 
right,  the  fingers  clinched  except  the  index,  she 
roared  out  these  words : — 

"Wall,  young  wench,  why  don't  yer  answer  me 
when  I  speak  to  yer,  hey?" 

"Oh,  I  beg  your  pardon,  good  lady,"  said  Lola, 
as  she  aroused  from  her  dazed  condition,  startled 
by  that  terrible  voice.  She  caught  her  breath 
and  hesitated,  then  continuing  she  said: — 

"Really,  I  was  thinking  of  other  matters,  and 
did  not  hear  you. '  * 

"Wall,  my  young  gal,  yer'd  better  pay  'tention 
to  what's  said  to  yer,  around  these  diggins. " 

*  *  I  promise  to  do  so  in  the  future,  good  lady, ' ' 
said  Lola  half  frightened  out  of  her  wits. 

"Young  wench,  yer  needn't  be  callin*  me  good 
lady,  try  in'  to  get  on  the  good  o'  me,  I  know 


41«  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

what  yer  atter;  but  it  won't  work  wi'  an  old  hen 
like  this  critter. ' ' 

''I  do  not  know  what  to  call  you,  for — " 
"Call  me  Sally — just  plain  Sally,"  she  inter- 
rupted. "I  used  to  be  called  Sally  Singecat, 
when  I  war  down  in  the  slums  o'  London  town. 
When  the  missioners  o'  the  Saints  come  down  in 
the  slums  a  preachin'  they  said  they  couldn't  git 
none  o*  them  high  up,  crack-doodle  folks,  to  list- 
en to  um.  I  axed  um  if  they'd  take  me.  'Yes,* 
said  they,  *if  you'll  leave  that  blasted  name, 
Singecat.  here  in  the  slums. '  So  a  whole  passle 
o'  us  gals  fum  the  slums  war  converted  and  war 
a  comin'  to  Zion,  when  I  sez:  'Can  I  git  a  man 
out  thar,  so  I'll  have  a  nuther  name?'  'Yes,'  sez 
zee.  'Then,'  sez  I,  'good,  my  old  name's  gone;' 
so  yer  see  my  sainted  name  is  jist  Sally.  They 
used  to  call  me  Sal,  in  the  slums.  Wall,  I  said, 
I'll  go.  So  I  come.  When  we  war  all  av/ay  out 
in  the  sea,  the  missioners  told  us  gals  if  we  got  a 
man  in  Utah,  most  o'  us  u'd  hafter  be  plurals. 
Sez  I,  'what's  that?'  Sez  zee,  'that's  bein'  a  fel- 
ler's wife,  when  he's  already  got  sever' 1  more  uv 
um.'  'Wall,'  sez  I,  'that's  all  right,  if  I  can't  git 
a  whole  man,  a  piece'll  do. '  Some  o'  the  tother, 
better  lookin'  and  smarter  gals  jist  kicked  big, 
and  that  thar  missioner  might  nigh  had  a  meetin' 
on  his  hands.  Them  gals  sez  'yer  told  us,  they 
didn't  practus  p'lyg'my  out  thar. '  Sez  zee,  'yes, 
but  that  war  to  corn  vert  yer,  and  besides,  it's  as 
good  er  better 'n  yer  bein'  in  them  fast  houses, 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  413 

ain't  it?  Some  thought  it  war  jist  about  the  same 
thing;  but  sez  I,  p'lyg'my  er  anything,  I  want  a 
man;  but  I  han't  got  the  man  yit,  and  law  chile, 
that's  been  twenty  year  ago,  so  I  ain't  got  no 
other  name  yit  I'm  already  fifty  now,  an'  I 
'spose  Sally  is  all  the  name  I'll  ever  have. " 

"I  will  do  as  you  say,  even  in  this,  although  it 
is  ill  manners  in  a  young  person  to  speak  to  an 
elderly  one,  calling  her  by  her  first  name." 

*'That  may  be,  I  don't  know  nuthin'  about  the 
thing  yer  call  manners ;  but  what  I  axed  yer  war : 
Don't  yer  think  yer'd  a'  done  better  to  a'  tuck 
the  Bish,  and  not  a'  come  down  here  to  stay  wi'  a 
fine  lookin'  old  critter  like  me?" 

*'0  Sally,  I  have  done  mucli  better  by  making 
this  choice.  My  conscience  is  at  least  clear:  for 
it  dictates  to  me  that  the  plurality  is  not  right. 
If  it  is  right,  God  would  have  given  fcither  Adam 
more  than  one  wife:  but  there  in  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  before  sin  came  into  the  world,  He  gave 
the  true  example.  Afterward,  man  wandered 
away  from  the  teachings  of  God.  'Then  the  sons 
of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men  that  they  were 
fair;  and  took  them  wives  of  all  which  they  chose. 
And  the  Lord  said,  My  spirit  shall  not  always 
strive  with  man,'  which  proves  to  me,  conclu- 
sively, that  God  was  displeased  with  this  lustful 
practice.  After  the  world  was  destroyed  and 
religion  began  to  be  re-established  in  the  world, 
'tis  true  that  in  that  primeval  dawn,  as  they 
emerged  from  darkness  into    a  semi- barbarous 


414  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

State,  some  of  the  chosen  people  practiced  the 
plurality;  but  it  was  never  commanded  of  God. 
When  Jesus  came  into  the  world,  with  power 
from  the  Father  to  teach  the  true  way,  he  said: 
'Have  ye  not  read,  that  He  which  made  them  at 
the  beginning  made  them  male  and  female,  and 
said,  for  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife;  and  they 
twain  shall  be  one  flesh?  Wherefore  they  are  no 
more  twain,  but  one  flesh.'  The  language  of 
Christ  is  very  plain  to  me.  He  did  not  say,  a 
man  and  a  multiple  of  women  shall  become  one 
flesh;  but  one  man  and  one  woman,  they  twain 
shall  become  one  flesh.  I  believe  with  all  my 
might,  mind,  and  soul  in  the  teachings  of  Christ, 
and  have  perfect  faith  in  his  promises.  'Faith 
without  works  is  dead,' — and  I  am  determined 
that  my  faith  shall  never  die.  It  is  hard  to  come 
to  this  place,  but  heavenly,  compared  to  that  of 
entering  into  such  a  distasteful  relation  against 
my  conscience  and  the  teachings  of  the  Sa- 
viour." 

"Chile,  I  ain't  hearn  anybody  talk  so  good  as 
that,  since  I  war  a  little  gal.  I  thought  I'd  have 
yer  broke  in  and  glad  to  be  comverted  before  yer 
war  here  a  month ;  but  in  the  fust  bout,  this  old 
critter's  argymunt  done  busted  all  to  flinders." 

"Don't  you  ever  read  the  Bible?" 

"Lor'  chile,  I  ain't  hearn  it  read  since  I  war  a 
little  bunch  of  a  gal,  and  I  can't  read  not  even 
one  little  word,  much  less  long,  big  uns  like  yuo 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  415 

talks  iDout.  Ain't  yer  hungry  gal?  If  yer  be,  I'll 
haf  ter  git  yer  a  bite  ter  eat.     I've  et  my  supper. " 

"I  cannot  eat,  Sally,  I  am  so  broken-hearted." 

"Yes,  but,  gal,  yer  can't  live  on  a  broken  heart 
alone.  Yer  got  ter  have  a  little  bread  and  meat 
on  board. ' ' 

**I  ate  a  hearty  lunch  about  two  o'clock  and  I 
am  not  the  least  hungry;  but  I  would  like  a  good 
drink  of  water,  and  then  I  would  like  to  lie  down, 
I  am  so  tired. ' ' 

''Come  'long,  gal,  I've  got  the  best  water  in 
Utah." 

Sally  led  the  way — ^light  in  hand,  to  the  stream 
of  water  flowing  through  the  pipe  in  the  court. 
The  hogs  came  squealing  around  them.  She  gave 
Lola  a  drink,  from  a  gourd  which  hung  above  the 
pipe.  The  water  was  delicious,  as  pure  as 
mountain  air.  Lola  drank  the  cool  draught  and 
felt  much  refreshed.     Sally  said : — 

**Now,  gal,  yer  say  yer  tired,  I'll  light  yer  to 
bed." 

She  went  and  opened  the  door  to  her  'truck 
room,'  as  she  termed  it.  Lola  followed,  until 
she  saw  the  inside  of  the  room,  without  com- 
plaining; but  when  she  looked  around  and  saw 
the  dingy,  dirty  place,  with  a  bunch  of  rags  hang- 
ing on  the  wall,  two  old  bins  containing  wheat 
and  com,  a  box  in  which  Sally  kept  her  meat, 
which  smelled  strong  of  the  brine,  a  bed  made 
on  a  pile  of  straw  on  which  Old  Sally  told  her 
she  should  sleep,  she  shrank  back  and  said : — 


41 6  THB   FALSE    STAR. 

**0  Sally,  permit  me  to  take  my  bed  in  the 
room  with  you — this  is  so  lonely.  I  will  make  it 
on  the  floor,  and  it  shall  not  be  any  trouble  to 
you. ' ' 

**What  do  you  mean,  young  wench?  Yer  want 
ter  get  away,  do  yer?  I  thought  yer  good  per- 
laverin'  was  fer  sun  then  like  a  scheme  ter  git 
away;  but  it  won't  work  on  this  ol'  hen.  I  won't 
sleep  wi'  yer  in  the  same  room  wi'  the  keys." 

*'I  don't  want  to  work  a  scheme  to  get  away; 
only  this  is  such  a  miserable,  dirty  place,  and  so 
lonely.  * ' 

**No  scheme,  hey?  Yer  as  slick  and  cunnin'  as  a 
missioner  of  the  Saints.  Tell  a  gal  she  can  git 
a  man,  to  git  her  to  jine,  when  they  know  hit's  a 
lie.  Tell  others,  that  they  can  git  good  homes 
fur  nuthin',  and  live  'thout  work,  ter  git  um  ter 
jine,  when  they  know  hit's  a  lie.  Tell  everybody 
they  don't  practice  p'lyg'my,  ter  git  um  ter  jine, 
and  come  ter  Zion,  when  they  know  hit's  a  lie. 
Tell  on  all'casions  that  they  believe  in  all  'Hgious 
'fairs,  as  other  folks,  and  they  know  hit's  a  lie. 
No,  young  wench,  I  don't  b'lieve  nuthin'  a  Saint 
tells  me,  if  thar's  anything  ter  me  that  'pends  on 
the  story,  and  my  neck  'pends  on  me  keepin'  yer 
in  this  here  place.  If  I  let  yer  git  away  my  neck 
will  pull  grass — sea  grass,  with  Saints  at  tother 
end — middle  o*  the  grass  over  a  limb.  No,  no, 
gal,  yer  can't  perlaver  me.  Yer  haf  ter  sleep 
here." 

Lola  stood  trembling  from  fear.     Tears  began 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  417 

to  flow  as  the  old  woman  gesticulated  wildly,  and 
poured  out  these  words  in  rapid  succession,  and 
in  so  shrill  and  loud  a  voice  that  the  old  prison 
reverberated  throughout  with  its  sound.  When 
she  stopped,  Lola  said  meekly : — 

**I  see — you  have  no  confidence  in  my  word. 
So—" 

**I  ain*t  got  none  in  any  Saint's  word,  they  will 
all  lie,  and  especially  the  high  up  crack-doodles. 
I  know  whar  I'm  at — it's  whar  they  kill  people  if 
they  don't  mind;  so  I  jist  got  sense  enough  ter 
do  jist  what  the  high  up  crack-doodles  order. 
I've  been  ordered  ter  keep  yer,  ur  my  neck  ud 
stretch  sea  grass,  so  that  fixes  it.  Yer'U  haf  ter 
sleep  right  thar. " 

Lola  brightened,  as  her  tears  dried  away,  when 
she  said: — 

**  Pardon  me,  Sally,  I  will  do  everything  you 
say;  if  you  will  only  believe  and  have  confidence 
in  what  I  say,  and  I  will  also  be  reasonably 
happy,  even  in  this  miserable  prison.  Better 
than  I  have  sung  praises  to  God,  even  while  in 
the  inner  prison.  I  only  hope  to  do  likewise, 
with  a  meek  and  lowly  heart,  and  it  will  help  to 
mitigate  my  sorrows.  It  is  only  when  I  forgot 
the  blessed  Saviour  for  a  moment,  that  I  lose  my 
way  under  this  terrible  oppression;  but  when  I 
look  to  Jesus,  as  a  sweet  vision  once  directed  me, 
my  heart  is  calm.  Paul  and  Silas  were  seized 
while  doing  the  work  of  the  Master,  scourged 
and  thrust  into  the  inner  prison  and  placed  in  the 


4l8  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

cruel  stocks,  because  the  keeper  of  the  prison  had 
been  strictly  charged  with  their  safe  keeping. 
At  the  dead  of  night,  they  sang  praises  to  the 
Redeemer;  the  doors  of  the  prison  were  thrown 
open,  and  their  fetters  were  loosened,  but  they 
did  not  leave.  'And  the  keeper  of  the  prison 
awaking  out  of  his  sleep,  and  seeing  the  prison 
doors  open,  he  drew  out  his  sword,  and  would 
have  killed  himself,  supposing  that  the  prisoners 
had  been  fled.  But  Paul  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying,  Do  thyself  no  harm,  for  we  are  all  here. ' 

0  Sally,  I  only  crave  your  confidence  as  Paul  and 
Silas  received  the  confidence  of  their  prison 
keeper;  yet,  I  realize  my  un worthiness,  as  com 
pared  to  them — they  converted  their  prison 
keeper;  for,  'Then  he  called  for  a  light,  and 
sprang  in,  and  came  trembling,  and  fell  down 
before  Paul  and  Silas,  and  brought  them  out, 
and  said.  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?' 
And  they  said,  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house.'  O 
Sally,  knowing  the  gravity  of  your  situation,  and 
the  evil  that  might  befall  you,  should  I  leave 
without  your  being  released  from  your  charge, 
like  Paul  and  Silas  I  would  stay  though  the  doors 
were  open.  Besides,  I  would  not  know  where  to 
go  to  find  a  haven  of  safety;  but,  if  I  knew,  and 
should  leave,  and  because  of  that  leaving  you 
would  suffer  death,  I  should  feel  guilty  of  con- 
tributing thereto.    Under  no  circumstances  would 

1  violate  the  least  of  God's  commandments  know- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  419 

ingly,  much  less  this  one,  'Thou  shalt  not  kill,' 
which  I  conceive  to  be  the  most  divine.  Liberty 
is  sweet,  but  to  gain  it  through  the  suffering  of 
others,  is  no  part  of  my  plan;  neither  would  I 
injure  in  any  way  those  who  have  caused  my 
incarceration,  together  with  many  other  injuries; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  I  would  bless  them  if  it 
were  in  my  power.  'Recompense  to  no  man  evil 
for  evil,'  is  the  teaching  of  Him  whom  I  serve. 
If  we  should  return  evil  for  evil,  what  better 
would  we  be  than  the  barbarian  or  the  heathen, 
who  have  not  the  word  of  God  as  a  guide  for  his 
acts.  You  speak  of  me  as  being  a  Saint.  I 
would  I  were  a  Saint  as  I  understand  the  term. 
The  Bible  says:  'Judge  not  that  ye  be  not 
judged!'  and  without  attempting  to  judge  any 
one  either  right  or  wrong,  I  have  witnessed  many 
acts  of  the  so-called  Saints  that  are  not  in  harmony 
with  that,  which  I  believe  to  be  the  scriptural 
term — saint.  For  we  read:  'And  he  gave  some, 
apostles;  and  some,  prophets;  and  some,  evan- 
gelists ;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers ;  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ. '  In 
order  to  reach  this  standard  as  a  saint,  we  must 
arrive  at  a  stage  of  perfection  on  earth.  Though 
I  regret  very  much  to  say  it ;  yet  this  church, 
the  founders  of  which  have  entitled  it,  'The 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints,* 
seems  to  be  filled  with  that  spirit  which  consti- 
tutes the  ruling  power  in  the  'infernal  regions,' 


420  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

rather  than  the  spirit  displayed  by  the  lowly 
Nazarene ;  for  the  love  of  Christ  brings  purity  of 
heart,  and  perfection  of  intent  to  all  who  put 
their  whole  trust  in  him,  I  am  not  a  saint  of 
this  high  standard ;  neither  am  I  a  Saint  of  the 
groveling  standard  we  see  exhibited  through 
their  actions  on  every  hand  around  us.  I  crave 
to  be  a  saint  of  the  biblical  type ;  then  I  should 
be  without  guile.  I  live  not  for  this  world,  Sally, 
but  for  the  next !  I  loved,  Oh,  so  truly !  and  that 
love  was  reciprocated  by  one  of  the  truest  of 
hearts ;  but  alas !  he  is  dead !  When  first  I  heard 
of  his  death,  my  poor  heart,  as  it  was  near 
breaking,  revolted  against  the  sad  news  when 
something  said,  'Nay,  live  on,  he  is  not  dead.' 
But  were  it  not  so,  my  Adrian,  O  my  lost  Adri- 
an would  have  come  back  ere  this,  to  his  heart- 
broken love!  Ill  fortune  is  mine — Adrian  in 
eternity,  while  I  am  simply  clinging  to  this 
wicked  world,  praying  only  to  be  sealed  to  him, 
that  we  may  be  one  to  a  purpose,  all  to  each 
other,  during  the  ceaseless  ages  of  eternity. 
Good-night,  Sally.  I  am  resigned  to  my  fate, 
trusting  in  the  promises  of  the  Saviour  who  will 
dry  every  tear. ' ' 

They  stood  apart  from  the  rude  bed  where 
Lola  was  to  sleep,  Sally  had  become  thoroughly 
absorbed  in  what  she  had  heard.  She  stood  as 
if  riveted  to  the  spot.  On  entering  the  room, 
she  had  set  the  lamp  on  a  rude  shelf  near  them ; 
and  with  her  sleeves  rolled  above  her  elbows, 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  42 1 

her  arms  folded,  she  had  stood  gazing  intentl)^ 
into  the  girl's  face,  eager. to  catch  every  word. 
An  occasional  tear  stole  down  her  wrinkled 
cheeks — the  first  she  had  shed  for  many  years. 
Hard  knocks  and  ill  treatment  had  calloused  her 
very  nature;  thus,  for  forty  years  such  tender- 
ness as  tear-drops,  which  flow  from  the  heart's 
purest  fountain,  held  not  an  abiding  place  in  her 
poor  soul.  Lola  turned  from  her,  hurriedly  pre- 
pared for  the  night,  put  on  her  snow-white  night- 
dress, unloosening  the  coil  of  golden  hair,  which 
fell  in  ringlets  below  her  waist;  then  kneeling, 
she  offered  up  this  prayer  to  her  God: — 

"All  wise  and  eternal  Parent,  again  I  kneel  in 
humble  supplication  to  Thee,  with  increased 
trials  and  tribulations  laid  upon  me,  to  ask  that 
Thy  holy  spirit  may  abide  with  me  through  every 
trial.  Heavenly  Father,  strengthen  my  resolu- 
tions, that  I  may  be  true  to  Thee,  in  everything 
that  is  pure  and  holy.  The  scourges  laid  upon 
me  are  indeed  sore  afflictions,  but  wilt  thou  give 
me  strength  and  power  to  endure  all  with  Chris- 
tian fortitude,  and  Thy  name  be  praised  forever 
And  now  Almighty  Father,  I  ask  Thy  blessing 
even  upon  those  who  persecute  me;  wilt  thou 
soften  their  hearts  toward  me.  Bless  all  man- 
kind everywhere.  Bless  this  woman,  with  whom 
I  am  to  be  associated,  until  I  shall  be  released 
from  this  gloomy  prison.  And  now,  O  Lord !  I 
ask  Thy  especial  care  and  blessing  upon  my 
father,    mother,     and    brother,    and    also    upon 


42  2  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Adrian's  parents,  wherever  they  may  be !  Grant, 
I  beseech  Thee,  that  I  may  yet  become  sealed  to 
Adrian,  so  that  when  I  shall  have  crossed  the 
dark  river  of  death  and  reached  the  eternal  shore, 
I  shall  be  his  companion  while  the  years  of  eter- 
nity roll.  These  blessings  I  humbly  ask  in  the 
name  of  Jesus.     Amen." 

She  arose,  got  into  the  miserable-looking  bed, 
and  soon  slept  soundly. 

Sally  stood  motionless,  gazing  on  the  maiden 
in  the  deepest  astonishment.  As  Lola  knelt  by 
her  humbly  bed,  the  picture  impressed  Sally  that 
Lola  was  above  and  beyond  the  things  of  earth. 
She  half  doubted  what  she  had  seen  and  heard, 
and  felt  as  if  it  were  a  dream. 

*'No  soul  as  good  as  her'n,  could  b'long  to  no 
body,  but  an  angel.  That  crack-doodle  villyen 
what  fetched  her  here,  is  up  ter  ther  us'al  Mor- 
mon trick.  He's  brung  an  angel  down  here  an' 
thinks  she's  a  gal." 

This  she  said  to  herself  in  a  low  muttering 
tone,  then  gliding  silently  to  the  side  of  the  bed, 
she  knelt  and  surveyed  the  beautiful  face  mi- 
nutely. She  noted  the  calm  features  of  the  maid, 
as  she  lay  in  quiet  slumbers,  with  her  long  gold- 
en hair  lying  carelessly  across  her  cheek  and 
snow  white  neck.  Sally  bent  low  to  see  if  she 
was  breathing:  then  taking  her  lamp,  she  quietly 
quit  the  room,  carefully  closing  the  door  after  her 
that  she  might  not  disturb  Lola. 

She  went  to  her  own  room  and  tried  to  sleep, 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  423 

but  could  not.  The  words  which  Lola  had 
uttered  with  such  impressiveness,  burned  into 
her  soul  and  she  could  not  sleep.  She  walked 
the  floor  for  a  time,  then  went  out  into  the  court, 
walking  back  and  forth  in  the  night  breeze. 
Finally  she  got  her  light  and  going  to  the  window 
of  Lola's  room,  which  had  been  left  open  for 
some  time,  and  holding  the  lamp  inside,  she 
peered  into  the  room,  to  see  if  she  was  still  there. 
She  was  sleeping  peacefully — ^her  position  being 
unchanged.     Sally  turned  away  and  said : — 

"Showly  this  be  a'  angel,  ur  she  couldn't  sleep 
amongst  sich  turble  troubles.  I  wish  that  ther 
Bish  hadn't  brungher  here;  fursunthin'  troubles 
this  old  soul  powferly.  It's  what  the  gal  said. 
It  sounds  as  sweet  as  mother's  talk,  the  day  she 
died.  Mother!  what  makes  me  think  o'  her?  I 
wasn't  but  seven,  when  she  war  tuck  fum  me. 
Since  that  day  'till  to-night,  nobody  has  ever  said 
nothin'  kind  to  me  ur  talked  about  Christ  in  my 
hearin'.  I  don't  know  what  ter  do.  Suthin*  tells 
me  that  the  gal's  talk  is  right." 

Thus  did  old  Sally  pass  the  night,  until  near 
the  dawn;  then  fell  asleep,  leaving  her  door  to 
the  court  standing  half  open. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

Lola  awoke  the  next  morning,  repeated  the 
Lord's  prayer,  dressed  herself,  went  out  into  the 
court  as  the  sun  was  rising.  Seeing  the  door  to 
Sally's  room  open,  she  walked  in.  The  old 
woman  lay  in  deep  sleep.  The  keys  were  yet 
hanging  in  the  inside  of  the  door,  as  Sally  had 
left  ihem  when  she  followed  Lola  into  the  prison 
the  evening  previous  and  turned  the  heavy  lock. 
Lola  quietly  stepped  to  the  door,  unlocked  and 
opened  it  wide.  She  took  the  keys,  went  into  the 
court  and  opened  the  large  iron  door  which  led  to 
the  outside  from  the  court,  then  returned  the 
keys  to  where  Sally  had  left  them.  Walking  out 
into  the  court  again,  she  began  walking  back  and 
forth  in  the  open  space.  She  could  look  through 
the  open  door  across  the  valley  and  see  Cedar 
City  in  the  distance,  beyond  were  the  rising  hills, 
on  the  other  side  of  which  was  the  Mountain 
Meadow  glen. 

She  half  remembered  having  once  heard  a 
recital  of  that  horrible  field  of  crime,  and  how  the 
property  of  the  ill-fated  train  was  disposed  of  at 
Cedar  City.  Her  knowledge  of  the  affair  was 
meager;  but  the  thoughts  of  being  so  close  to 
where  such  a  shocking,  blood-curdling  crime  had 
been  committed,  horrified  her,  together  with  the 
fact  that  she  was  imprisoned  within  the  walls 
where  at  least  three  ghastly  murders  had  been 

424 


THE    FALSE     STAR.  425 

perpetrated.  She  had  seen  the  blood-stained 
tracks  on  the  floor  of  the  room  where  she  slept, 
and  knew  not  how  soon  her  life's  blood  would 
flow  at  the  bidding  of  the  treacherous  Saints. 

Her  spirits  were  depressed.  She  surveyed 
closely  everything  within  the  cruel  walls.  The 
hogs  lay  sleeping  in  one  of  the  rooms,  raised  up 
and  grunted  at  her,  excitedly,  as  if  startled  at  the 
appearance  of  a  stranger ;  but  soon  resumed  their 
sleep.  The  loneliness  which  filled  her  heart, 
brought  the  tears  afresh  to  her  eyes,  as  she  gazed 
at  the  top  of  a  hill  crowned  with  cedar  trees, 
which  arose  to  the  east  of  the  prison. 

"When  these  great  doors  are  shut,"  she  said, 
still  gazing  at  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  "that 
spot  of  this  great  world,  will  be  all  that  I  can  see 
from  the  inside  of  this  cruel  cage ;  and  how  long, 
Oh  how  long,  will  this  persecution  last!" 

She  was  sinking  again  into  the  depths  of  de- 
spair, when  the  sweet  thoughts  of  the  vision  came 
into  her  mind  and  filled  her  lonely  heart  with 
consolation,  inspiring  her  to  sing:  **In  the  Sweet 
Bye  and  Bye." 

She  never  sang  so  sweetly  in  her  happy  days. 
Her  voice  filled  the  lonely  prison,  and,  as  it  arose 
on  the  morning  air,  all  nature  seemed  to  listen. 
The  hogs  ceased  their  snoring,  pricked  their  ears, 
listened,  then  raised  to  a  sitting  posture  and 
listened  in  death-like  silence  to  the  end.  Old 
Sally  awoke  and  held  her  breath  to  catch  every 
word.     In  the  fifty  years  of  her  life  she  had  never 


426  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

heard  anything  so  charming.  She  raised  on  her 
elbow,  and  listened,  occasionally  muttering  to 
herself:  "That  gal  ain't  like  nobody  I  ever  seen 
in  this  world.  She  don't  b'long  here.  No  won- 
der she  can  sing. ' ' 

The  song  finished,  Lola  drooped  her  head  as  if 
in  silent  prayer.  Old  Sally  turned  and  beheld 
the  front  door  wide  open.  She  sprang  out  of  bed, 
closed  the  door  and  turned  the  key  in  an  instant, 
then  rushed  to  the  door  opening  to  the  court, 
which  was  also  open,  to  see  where  the  "angel 
gal"  was,  when,  to  her  utter  amazement,  the 
large  iron  door  stood  open  and  Lola  standing  a 
few  yards  away  inside  the  court.  She  rushed 
back,  jerked  the  keys  from  the  front  door,  flew 
to  the  heavy  door  to  the  court,  shut  and  locked  it 
firm.     Her  excitement  was  intense. 

Lola  raised  her  head  and  saw  her  excited  move- 
ments. When  the  door  was  secure.  Old  Sally, 
with  horror  written  in  every  feature,  turned  and 
looked  at  Lola,  who  calmly  said : — 

"Good  morning,  Sally." 

"Hello,  gal,"  said  Sally  excitedly,  "Did  yer  see 
these  here  doors  standin'  open?" 

' '  Yes,  for  the  last  hour. ' ' 

"An*  yer  not  run  off?" 

"Did  I  not  tell  you  last  evening  that  I  would 
not  leave,  though-  the  prison  doors  were  open, 
and  thus  place  your  life  in  jeopardy?" 

"Yer  didn't  say  it  in  that  way,  gal." 

' '  But  this  was  its  meaning. " 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  427 

**I  b'lieve  it  war,  but  I  thought  it  war  a  Mor- 
mon lie." 

"I  hope  that  I  shall  be  able  to  prove  to  you 
that  I  do  not  lie." 

"I  don't  b'lieve  yer  duz,  ner  du  nuthin'  else 
what's  wrong." 

i«  *  Truth  is  a  divine  attribute  and  the  founda- 
tion of  every  virtue.'  You  were  surprised  at 
finding  the  doors  open. ' ' 

*'Yes,  I  war  pow'fully  shocked." 

'*It  was  I  who  opened  the  doors." 

*'I  know'd  it  war  a'  angel." 

**But  I  am  not  an  angel.  I  am  only  a  poor, 
broken-hearted  creature,  wrecked  of  every  hope 
in  life,  but  striving  to  do  what  I  believe  to  be 
right." 

"Poor  chile,  I  b'lieve  all  yer  say.  I  promised 
ther  Bish,  on  penalty  o'  death,  ter  never  let  yer 
git  outside  o'  these  here  walls;  but  yer  may  go 
outside  er  whar  yer  please,  jist  so  nobody  knows 
h'it,  and  I  will  tell  ther  Bish  yer  been  in  here  all 
ther  time.  I'll  go  wi'  yer  at  times,  whar  ever 
yer  wants  ter  go.  But  yer  will  haf  ter  keep 
awful  mum  about  it.  When  ther  Bish  comes,  I 
will  lie  ter  him  and  tell  him  yer  have  been  here 
inside  uv  these  walls  every  minit. ' ' 

' '  Dear  Sally,  your  intentions  are  very  kind.  I 
scarcely  expected  to  ever  gain  your  confidence. 
It  would  be  a  supreme  pleasure  to  get  away  from 
this  miserable  place,  to  climb  yonder  mountain 
side,  and  wander  near  the  borders  of  the  town,  or 


428  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  ramble  beneath  the  cooling  shade  of  the  trees 
that  skirt  the  beautiful  mountain  stream,  and 
hear  the  ripple  of  the  restless  water,  or  listen  to 
the  songs  of  the  birds,  in  the  boughs  above,  and 
gather  the  wild  flowers;  but  to  do  this  at  such  a 
cost,  would  destroy  all  the  pleasure  which  I  might 
hope  to  enjoy.  By  doing  this,  I  would  become  a 
party  to  a  falsehood,  not  only  a  party  to  it,  but 
the  party  who  reaped  its  benefits,  if  any  there  be, 
therefore,  the  propelling  cause.  'Thou  shalt  not 
bear  false  witness, '  is  the  instruction  we  have, 
with  no  exceptions.  O  Sally !  I  would  not  have 
you  tell  a  falsehood  for  my  temporary  pleasure. 
Instead  of  it  being  a  pleasure,  it  would  be  as  coals 
of  fire  heaped  upon  my  head.  Dear  Sally,  never 
let  it  be  said  that  you  would  falsify  in  order  to 
reap  a  temporary  benefit.  You  would  have  to  do 
this  should  I  go  outside,  in  order  to  shield  yourself 
from  harm.  I  will  rest  secure  upon  the  promise 
of  the  Saviour,  which  says:  'And  ye  shall  know 
the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free. '  If 
you  desire  my  pleasure,  permit  me  to  map  out  the 
program." 

"This  old  critter '11  do  jist  what  yer  say,  fur  I 
know  hit'll  be  right. " 

"I  have  a  small  Bible  in  my  valise.  It  was  given 
to  me  by  my  lover,  before  he  left  me.  We  once 
had  a  true  friend  whose  name  was  Vernon  Stan- 
ton. He  was  a  good  man,  was  a  Mason,  and  a 
member  of  some  good  eastern  church.  He  told 
us  many  of  the  teachings  of  the  good  people  of 


THE  False   star.  429 

the  churches  of  the  east.  They  did  not  believe  in 
or  practice  the  plurality.  Since  Adrian  went 
away,  I  have  devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of 
this  holy  book,  as  he  explained  it  to  us.  If  you 
will  permit  me  to  read  it  to  you  and  explain,  as 
far  as  I  am  able,  my  sorrows  will  be  much  alle- 
viated, and  we  will  thereby  avoid  the  uncomfort- 
able position  of  having  to  practice  deception. 
We  can  spend  much  valuable  time  in  this  way 
and  it  will  bring  some  sunshine  into  this  lonely 
prison,  for  the  spirit  of  Jesus  will  be  here.  Do 
you  agree?" 

**Wi'  all  o'  my  heart,  honey." 

Thus,  did  Lola  and  Sally  spend  most  of  their 
time,  when  Old  Sally  was  not  busy.  For  the  first 
time  in  her  life,  Sally  began  to  observe  Sunday 
as  the  Lord's  day.  All  her  labors  were  finished 
during  the  week  and  she  did  as  little  on  Sunday 
as  possible.  The  rest  of  the  day  was  devoted  to 
the  service  of  God  and  searching  the  Scriptures. 
Much  of  Sally's  time,  however,  during  the  week 
days  was  spent  in  her  necessary  labor,  as  she 
raised  her  garden,  lucern,  wheat,  and  corn ;  cut, 
gathered  and  thrashed  the  same.  She  carried 
her  wheat  to  mill,  and  returned  at  night  with  her 
load  of  flour.  She  often  carried  forty  or  fifty 
pounds  of  pork  to  market,  returning  with  the 
groceries  which  she  purchased  in  exchange.  A 
great  deal  of  her  time  was  spent  during  the  fall 
in  gathering  her  wood  for  winter,  which  was  now 
f^st  approaching.      She  kepj  a  cow  and  some 


43©  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

chickens  on  the  outside  of  the  prison,  which 
found  shelter  in  a  small  shanty  that  Sally  had  con- 
trived herself;  but  her  pigs  were  her  delight. 

In  the  absence  of  Old  Sally,  or  when  she  was 
very  tired,  the  only  association  left  for  Lola  was 
the  hogs.  They  learned  her  gentle  voice,  and 
would  come  at  her  call  by  the  names  she  had  given 
them.  They  became  attached  to  her  and  she  to 
them,  and  when  Old  Sally  killed  one  for  the 
market,  Lola  felt  sad  for  days.  She  was  more 
kind  to  the  dumb  brutes  than  were  the  alleged 
Saints  to  a  dissenting  member.  She  spent  much 
of  her  time  when  alone,  reflecting  over  the  happy 
days  of  the  past,  and  wondering  if  the  time  would 
ever  come  when  she  would  be  free  from  the  iron 
grasp  of  the  cruel-hearted  Lehman.  She  wished 
him  no  harm,  but  she  prayed  that  his  heart  might 
be  touched  by  a  sense  of  justice  and  pity,  and 
thereby  grant  liberty  to  one  poor  defenseless 
creature,  whose  life  had  been  made  a  burden 
since  the  night  she  was  so  ruthlessly  torn  from 
her  parents.  The  days,  weeks,  and  months, 
wore  heavily  on  and  her  heart  throbbed  so  often 
with  intense  pain,  that  she  felt  if  she  could  be  at 
liberty  to  go  forth  under  the  broad  sunlight  of 
heaven  with  that  freedom  which  was  due  to  all 
upright  people,  that  she  could  be  reasonably 
happy,  even  without  her  dear  Adrian.  She  felt 
that  her  intellectual,  physical,  and  spiritual 
growth  would  be  stronger  under  the  blessed  boon 
p{  freedom,  and  that  ^\ie  would  be  the  better  pre- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  43I 

pared  to  meet  Adrian  in  the  spirit  land,  if  such 
were  the  case. 

Eight  months  had  passed  since  she  had  been 
thrust  into  this  prison.  She  had  made  the  best 
use  of  her  time  studying  the  Bible,  and  teaching 
Sally  the  tnie  way.  Not  another  soul  had  been 
near  the  prison  during  all  of  this  time.  Often 
Sally  would  be  until  far  into  the  night  before 
returning  from  market  or  her  work.  She  was 
away  at  this  time,  Lola  knew  not  where.  The 
sun  was  sinking  in  the  west  and  Lola  was  sitting 
in  a  despondent  mood — sick  at  heart,  the  tears 
were  falling  from  her  pretty  eyes,  as  she  gazed 
wistfully  at  the  green  trees  at  the  top  of  the  peak 
at  the  east. 

'*Hark!"  she  suddenly  said  to  herself.  **What 
is  that  sound  I  hear  in  the  distance?" 

She  was  all  excited  to  hear  an  unusual  sound, 
especially  the  soimd  of  a  vehicle  in  that  lonely 
wild.  It  sent  a  thrill  of  joy  to  her  heart,  for  she 
hoped  it  portended  some  good.  She  listened 
again,  it  was  nearer  and  more  distinct,  it  was 
plain  now  that  it  was  the  rumbling  sound  of  a 
carriage.  Hope  arose  to  its  highest  summit  and 
she  said: — 

**0h,  if  my  prayers  for  deliverance  are  to  be 
answered  and  the  cruel  heart  of  Lehman  has 
relented,  so  that  I  can  return  to  my  parents,  I 
will  be  so  happy. ' ' 

The  sound  was  very  close  at  this  time  and  in 
a  moment  the  carriage  stopped  in  front  of  the 


432  THE  False  ^tar. 

prison.  Some  one  alighted  and  going  to  tlie  front 
door  rapped  very  loudly — then  again  and  again, 
each  time  with  increased  vigor.  Then,  coming 
to  the  heavy  iron  door  to  the  court,  on  the  inside 
of  which  Lola  was  standing — her  heart  beating 
rapidly,  as  she  listened  eagerly  for  the  sound  of 
a  voice.  Then  came  a  heavy  rap  on  the  door  to 
the  court,  at  the  same  time  a  voice  shouted: — 

"Hello!" 

It  was  the  voice  of  Lehman.  Lola  stood  tremb- 
ling with  fear,  scarcely  knowing  whether  to 
answer  or  not.  Then  came  a  tremendous  knock 
on  the  door  as  he  shouted  in  a  still  louder  voice: — 

"Lola!  O  Lola  Allison!  Are  you  in?" 

**I  am,"  she  answered.  "Where  do  you  think 
I  would  be?" 

"What  dost  thou  most  desire,  my  fair  queen?" 

"That  I  may  become  as  homely  as  poor  Old 
Sally,  that  I  might  not  be  hounded,  insulted  and 
imprisoned  by  an  alleged  Saint,  who  attempts  to 
flatter  me  by  calling  me  'fair  queen'  and  renders 
himself  thoroughly  disgusting.  * ' 

"Thou  art  growing  sarcastic." 

"No,  simply  plainer  spoken,  because  of  lack 
of  fear  as  to  results. ' ' 

"I  do  not  comprehend." 

"I  used  to  fear  death  at  the  hands  of  the 
brethren ;  but  now  I  do  not. ' ' 

"Hast  thou  decided  to  go  to  the  temple  with 
me  and  be  made  mine?" 

**NQt  whilQ  I  UvQ  m^  keep  my  inteUect," 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  433 

**0  sweet  one,  permit  me  to  take  thee  from  this 
terrible  house  and  place  thee  in  luxury  and  ease 
— yes,  luxury  and  ease." 

"I  have  prayed  that  I  might  be  released  from 
this  awful  place.  O  Bishop  Lehman!  for  the 
love  of  justice,  will  you  not  release  me?  Why 
am  I  the  subject  of  your  vicious  designs?  Have 
I  ever  wronged  any  being?" 

"No,  angel,  one  as  fair  as  thou  art,  could  think 
no  wrong." 

*'Then,  why  am  I  thus  punished?  For  eight 
long  and  dreary  months,  I  have  been  compelled 
to  make  this  prison  my  home.  No  human  being 
have  I  seen  except  Sally.  She  with  the  hogs 
have  constituted  my  associates.  Permit  me,  Oh, 
I  pray,  to  go  hence  without  delay,  that  I,  poor 
miserable  creature  that  I  am,  may  yet  breathe 
the  air  of  freedom — yes,  freedom — liberty;  the 
heaven  bom  principle  of  the  greatest  government 
under  the  sun.  That  government,  within  whose 
domain  I  am  deprived  of  this  precious  boon, 
when  you  have  just  confessed  that  I  have  done 
no  wrong.  Could  my  country's  laws  but  be 
applied  to  my  case,  I  know  that  I  could  be 
released  from  this  hateful  place." 

* 'Young  woman,  if  it  is  thy  desire  to  be  released 
from  this  prison,  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary 
to  cease  thy  unholy  praise  for  this  damnable  gov- 
ernment, which  is  beginning  to  be  such  a  menace 
to  our  holy  church.  And,  further,  thou  shalt 
never  leave  this  place  until  thou  wilt  acknowl- 
29 


434  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

edge  that  the  plurality  is  divine,  and  consent  to  be 
my  sixth. ' ' 

** While  life  shall  last,  I  will  praise  this  mighty 
government  and  just  that  long  will  I  refuse  to  be 
your  concubine. '  * 

**I  do  not  ask  thee  to  be  my  concubine,  but  to 
wed  me  and  be  my  favorite  wife — yes,  my  favor- 
ite wife." 

'*I  cannot  see  the  distinction,  for  already  you 
have  a  legal  wife ;  those  taken  after  are  concu- 
bines, as  all  the  civilized  world  declares." 

**I  have  heard  all  that  I  wish  to  from  thee. 
Dost  thou  still  refuse  to  yield?" 

' '  I  do,  most  emphatically !  I  would  rather  live 
with  the  swine,  than  be  a  plural  of  thine. ' ' 

"Ho!  Miss,  thou  art  as  poetical  as  thou  art 
saucy,  when  thou  hast  the  iron  door  between  us; 
but  remember,  lassie,  that  thou  wilt  have  a  long 
time  to  wait,  before  thou  hast  another  opportunity 
to  leave  this  place,  if  thou  dost  refuse  this." 

"Time  has  no  effect.  This  is  a  paradise  com- 
pared to  your  harem. " 

"Then,  farewell!  Tell  Sally  that  I  have  been 
here,  but  thy  obstinacy  compelled  me  to  leave 
thee  for  another  period  much  longer  than  before. " 
The  sound  of  the  carriage  was  soon  lost  to  Lola, 
and  she  was  again  left  an  inmate  of  that  lonely 
prison  for  an  indefinite  period. 

"Oh,  why  did  this  cruel-hearted  wretch  come 
here?  Was  it  simply  to  add  insults  to  cruelty? 
If  he  would  only  gtay  ^way  fron;  me,  I  would  be 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  435 

SO  much  happier.  How  so  much  infamy  can  be 
concentrated  into  the  heart  of  a  human  being,  is 
beyond  my  comprehension.** 

Then  pressing  her  hands  to  her  temples,  she 
cried : — 

"Oh,  my  head!  My  poor  aching  head !  How 
much  pain  and  sorrow  is  yet  in  store  for  my  poor 
soul.  Even  my  love  foe  this  great  republic  brings 
increased  injuries  and  injustice  to  me.  The  best 
man  I  ever  knew,  aside  from  my  father,  Adrian, 
and  his  father,  said  he  would  lay  down  his  life,  if 
necessary,  to  save  the  Stars  and  Stripes  from  dis- 
honor. Adrian  voiced  the  sentiment,  when  the 
broad-minded  Mr.  Stanton  said,  *You  are  my 
friend  always,  dear  boy. '  The  history  he  gave 
us  of  the  great  republic,  we  read  together.  Beau- 
tifully and  magnificently  she  has  risen,  since  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  until,  the  present 
time,  with  such  superior  justice  that  the  world's 
history  has  not  a  parallel.  Yet  I  am  to  be  con- 
demned and  my  imprisonment  prolonged,  because 
of  my  love  for  her.  O  Columbia!  dear  Colum- 
bia! Would  that  I  could  cry  from  this  hateful 
place,  in  my  wild  despair,  until  you  could  hear 
my  pleading.  Then  I  should  be  released  by  the 
power  of  your  just  hand. " 

By  this  time,  Sally  had  returned  and  was  stand- 
ing near  her,  but  Lola  had  not  observed  her  com- 
ing in,  so  deep  was  her  grief. 

**My  poor  chile,  why  is  yer  ^evin*  like 
that?'' 


436  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

**0  Sally,  you  frighten  me!  I  did -not  know 
you  were  near. ' ' 

**I  just  come  right  in,  honey.  But  what  on 
arth  has  been  done  ter  make  yer  mourn  so  piti- 
ful? It  breaks  this  ol'  heart  ter  see  yer  grievin' 
like  that.'* 

"Alas,  Sally,  it  is  terrible!  Bishop  Lehman 
has  been  here  this  evening,  and — " 

*'What!     Whar  ishe?" 

* '  He  left  a  short  time  ago,  I  do  not  know  where 
he  went;  but  he  said,  on  leaving,  that  I  should 
stay  in  the  future  much  longer  than  I  have  in  the 
past.  O  Sally,  I  cannot  bear  to  live  in  this 
lonely  cage  much  longer!  His  visit  has  so  frus- 
trated my  mind,  that  it  has  aroused  every  spark 
of  energy  within  my  being  and  set  them  longing 
for  freedom. ' ' 

*'I  wish  this  ol'  gal  had  o'  seen  him.  I  would 
ha*  said, — 'See  here  Bish,  take  this  ol'  critter's 
life,  if  it'll  give  that  poor  gal  her  liberty. '  If  he 
hadn't  'greed  ter  done  one  ur  tother,  I  'ould  ha' 
cracked  his  pate  wi'  my  cane.  But,  gal,  how  did 
yer  talk  ter  him?" 

**He  stood  on  the  outside  of  the  heavy  iron 
door,  while  I  stood  just  on  the  inside.  We  talked 
back  and  forth  in  that  position.  Oh,  I  do  wish 
that  he  would  stay  away  or  release  me !  What 
shall  I  do,  Sally?  Oh,  what  shall  I  do?  I  am  so 
sad  and  sick  at  heart.  Bereft  of  home,  of  friends, 
and  deprived  of  my  liberty,  because  I  refuse  to 
yield  up  th^t  which  I  hold  above  everything  on 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  437 

earth — honor !  I  hope  and  pray  for  the  dawn  of 
the  morning  when  I  may  be  sealed  to  Adrian, 
and  then  taken  from  this  world  to  dwell  with  him 
in  the  spirit  land.  O  Adrian!  my  true  hearted 
Adrian !  Do  you  know  the  depths  of  sorrow  into 
which  I  am  plunged?  If  so,  intercede  at  the 
throne  of  mercy  for  a  termination  of  this  cruel, 
cruel  oppression!  O  Sally,  what  shall  I  do! 
What  shall  I  do!" 

Sally  was  so  overcome  with  her  frantic  grief, 
that  she  had  only  presence  of  mind  sufficient  to 
say: — 

**Look  to  Jesus,  and  you  shall  conquer." 
She  had  heard  Lola  repeat  the  words  of  the 
vision  so  often,  when  she  (Sally)  would  complain 
of  the  misfortunes  of  life — of  being  friendless  and 
forced  to  seek  this  miserable  place,  as  her  only 
refuge,  and  work  so  hard  in  her  declining  years 
for  a  meager  existence ;  and  now,  when  it  seemed 
that  the  poor  girl's  bark  was  nearing  the  reefs, 
as  she  was  tossed  upon  life's  billows,  with  the 
thunders  of  despair  crashing  above  her,  and  the 
turbulent  waters  of  cruelty  and  oppression  rolling 
beneath,  the  only  advice  the  poor  old  soul  could 
give  the  girl,  was  Lola's  frequent  advice  to  her. 
It  had  the  desired  effect — it  was  as  the  blessed 
command  of  the  Saviour,  when  he  said  to  the  wind 
and  the  waves:  " Peace  be  still. " 
Instantly  Lola  changed,  and  said : — 
**Ah!  my  dear  Sally,  I  perceive  that  the  seed 
sown,  concerning  the  Master,  while  I  have  been 


43^  '^'HE    FALSE     STAR. 

in  this  prison,  has  fallen  on  good  soil.  I  can  now 
cast  every  burden  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  say:  *  Peace 
on  earth,  good  will  to  man.'  " 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

Immediately  after  the  first  trial  of  Bishop  John 
D.  Lee,  Vernon  Stanton  resolved  to  find  Lola. 
The  Allisons  and  Walthams  had  left  the  Garden 
City  so  quietly,  that  their  whereabouts  were,  to 
all  appearances,  entirely  lost.  Mr.  Stanton  went 
from  Beaver  to  the  city  of  Zion,  immediately 
after  the  trial  closed,  and  after  attending  some 
pressing  business  affairs,  proceeded  at  once  to 
Park  City  to  see  Jed.  After  Adrian  left  and  his 
parents  were  wrecked  by  the  priesthood  as  has 
been  explained,  Jed  secured  employment  in  the 
mine  of  Mr.  Stanton.  He  was  so  trustworthy, 
th^t  he  soon  arose  to  the  position  of  superintend- 
ent. The  mine  was  paying  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  thousand  dollars  per  month,  clear  of  all 
expenses,  and  Jed  was  the  best  man  that  Mr. 
Stanton  could  get  for  the  position.  On  reaching 
Park  City  late  in  the  evening,  he  summoned  Jed 
to  his  private  office.  When  Jed  sat  down,  Mr. 
Stanton  said: — 

"Jed,  I  have  another  job  for  you,  at  least  for  a 
while. '  * 

Jed  was  seized  with  the  idea  that  Mr.  Stanton 
was  displeased  with  his  management,  and  said : — 

"What  is  the  trouble,  Mr.  Stanton?  Have  I 
erred  in  my  management?" 

"Not  in  the  least.  Your  work  has  given  per- 
fect satisfaction ;  but  I  have  another  work  that  is 

439 


440  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

of  more  importance,  if  you  are  willing  to  accept.  ** 
Mr.  Stanton  knew  Jed's  qualities  as  a  detective 
and  desired  him,  above  every  one  he  knew,  for 
the  work  he  had  in  view.  Jed  sat  in  silence,  and 
Mr.  Stanton  continued:  *'The  Allisons  and 
Walthams  have  long  since  left  the  Garden  City, 
as  you  know,  and  I  have  tried  to  find  the  Wal- 
thams, on  account  of  the  interest  Adrian  held  in 
the  mines,  which  goes  to  them ;  in  fact,  I  would 
like  to  find  both  families,  on  account  of  the  regard 
and  sympathy  I  have  for  them,  and  owing  to  their 
ill  fortune,  I  should  like  to  assist  them  with  a 
start  in  life  again;  now,  a  new  incentive  is  added 
why  I  want  to  find  them.  Lola  is  not  the  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allison ;  it  developed  at  the 
trial,  at  Beaver,  that  she  was  a  member  of  the 
ill-fated  train  at  Mountain  Meadow  and  was 
adopted,  at  Logan,  as  the  daughter  of  Phillip 
Klingensmith.  I  have  further  learned  that  there 
is  some  mystery  connected  with  their  leaving  the 
Garden  City,  and  that  Bishop  Lehman  is  at  the 
bottom  of  a  dark  plot  to  get  the  girl  as  a  plural. 
There  is  nothing  definite  about  the  whole  affair, 
except  that  she  was  separated  from  her  foster 
parents  and  that  she  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the 
dastardly  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  plurality ; 
and  it  is  my  opinion,  that  this  villain  has  her  at  his 
mercy.  Disguise  yourself  and  go  in  search  of 
Lola.  While  in  this  employment  your  wages  will 
be  doubled.     What  do  you  say?" 

' '  I  will  go,  and  if  she  is  living,  I  will  locate  her. ' ' 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  44I 

Listen  to  what  I  say,  Jed,  and  obey  my 
instructions  on  this  matter,  as  far  as  possible. 
You  have  been  prompt  and  true  to  me  in  all  of 
your  engagements  and  I  charge  you  in  this  mat- 
ter to  be  doubly  true.  The  men  you  will  have  to 
deal  with  are  unscrupulous.  See  that  you  make 
no  mistake.  Here  are  five  thousand  dollars  for 
expenses.  I  give  you  this  amount,  that  you  will 
not  be  compelled  to  lose  any  time  on  account  of 
means.  Go,  Jed,  locate  the  girl.  Keep  your 
intentions  silent  as  the  tomb,  and  when  you  have 
done  so,  do  not  attempt  to  rescue  her  alone :  nor 
tnust  you  let  her  even  know  your  intentions ;  but 
report  to  me  at  once;  and  if  she  is  living — 'by 
the  eternal, '  she  shall  be  freed  from  the  grasp  of 
this  scoundrel ;  and  if  she  is  dead,  his  neck  shall 
pay  the  penalty.  There  shall  yet  be  justice  in 
Zion  or  my  name  is  not  Vernon  Stanton. " 

Jed  had  never  seen  the  fire  of  indignation  bum 
so  furiously  in  the  soul  of  this  good  man,  and  it 
only  increased  his  own  determinations,  as  he 
said : — 

"Every  instruction  that  has  been  given,  shall 
be  followed  without  variance,  and  though  the 
wrath  of  the  demons,  calling  themselves  Saints, 
fall  upon  me,  I  will  continue  my  search  through 
every  condition,  nor  will  I  return  until  my  mission 
is  fulfilled,  even  if  I  lose  my  life  in  the  attempt  ; 
for  to  die,  seeking  to  rescue  an  innocent  woman 
from  the  grasp  of  a  lecherous,  lustful  fiend,  would 
be  as  worthy  as  the  yielding  up  one's  life  in  the 


442  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

defense  of  his  country.  Good-bye,  Mr.  Stanton, 
and  remember  that  when  you  see  Jedediah 
Worthen  >again  you  will  hear  some  tidings  of  the 
lovely  maid. ' ' 

"Good,  my  faithful  Jed,  and  may  success  crown 
your  labors,  for  never  was  a  cause  more  just — may 
the  guardian  angel,  who  holds  the  scale  of  justice 
in  equal  poise,  protect  you  in  this  undertaking. ' ' 

Jed  went  to  his  room  and  disguised  himself  as  a 
farm  hand,  then  had  one  of  the  men  at  the  mine 
drive  him  within'  five  miles  of  the  Garden  City, 
before  it  was  light  the  next  morning.  He  walked 
the  remainder  of  the  way,  took  up  the  clew  given 
him  by  Mr.  Stanton,  and  before  three  months 
had  elapsed,  he  had  traced  Lola  to  Filmore  to  the 
home  of  Lehman's  fifth.  For  more  than  a  year, 
he  could  hear  nothing  of  her.  He  secured  work, 
as  a  farm  hand  at  this  place,  and  used  every 
energy  to  catch  a  word  that  would  give  him  a 
clew.  About  fifteen  months  after  tracing  Lola  to 
this  place,  Lehman  and  Henry  Spiral,  a  hired 
hand,  had  had  a  misunderstanding  which  ended 
in  words.  This  man,  Spiral,  was  the  driver  for 
Lehman  when  he  took  Lola  to  the  prison,  also, 
when  he  went  to  see  her  in  December  afterward, 
and  he  was  now  to  go  with  him  on  a  third  trip  in 
April. 

Lehman  had  started  back  to  the  Garden  City 
and  had  left  Henry  in  rather  a  bad  humor  toward 
him.  Jed  and  Henry  had  grown  to  be  fast  friends. 
They  stood  near  each  other  as  the  bishop,  with 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  443 

three  of  his  women  drove  away.  Henry  shrugged 
his  shoulders  and  said : — 

"If  that  black-hearted  scoundrel  ever  insults 
me  again,  I'll  peach  on  him  about  the  girl." 

"Girl?"  said  Jed.  "What  girl  are  you  talking 
about?  That  young  dowdy  he  was  gallanting 
around  last  night?" 

"Oh,  no,  that  wouldn't  piill  any  rope.  I  should 
say  not.  He  could  get  a  whole  corral  full  like 
her;  but  he  has  a  little  bird  caged  up  down  below 
here,  that  he'd  give  his  midlings  to  make  a  plural 
of;  but  she  is  a  bit  too  good  for  him — refuses  to 
marry  him,  absolutely.  She  is  the  sweetest  mor- 
tal I  ever  saw,  and  as  pretty  as  a — well,  she  is  too 
pretty  to  talk  about. ' ' 

"You  have  seen  her  then?" 

"Seen  her?  Well,  I'd  rather  guess — she  was 
here  over  a  year,  man.  I  saw  her  then  every 
day." 

"What  kind  of  a  girl  is  she?" 

"The  best  that  ever  lived." 

"You  are  extravagant  in  your  praises  for  her." 

"It's  the  truth,  just  the  same.  If  you  had  seen 
what  I  have  seen  and  heard  what  I  have  heard, 
you'd  say  so  yourself." 

"You  arouse  my  interest  in  her.  I  like  good 
people  and  I'd  like  to  see  her,  from  what  you  say 
of  her.  Who  is  she  and  where  did  she  come 
from?" 

"Oh,  her  name  is  Lola;  but  further  than  this  I 
do  not  know.     But  I  know  there  is  some  mystery 


444  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

about  her  coming  here,  as  the  bishop  gave  strict 
orders  that  no  one  should  speak  about  the  matter. ' ' 

"Where  did  you  say  she  is?" 

"O  man!  To  answer  you  correctly  on  this 
point  would  involve  me  in  much  trouble.  It 
might  endanger  my  life,  and  that  I  prize,  very 
highly  indeed.  I  don't  care  to  stake  it,  when  the 
brethren  have  the  long  end  of  the  board  on  which 
it  is  to  teeter.  In  other  words,  I  know  Lehman 
and  his  gang.  I  have  their  orders  with  reference 
to  the  girl.  I  know  the  penalty  for  violating 
them;  therefore,  I  will  not  talk  on  the  vital 
point;  yet  Lehman  must  not  insult  me  again. 
He's  afraid  of  the  Gentiles  and  says  under  no  cir. 
cumstances  must  they  know  anything  about  Lola 
or  her  whereabouts." 

"Does  Lehman  visit  her?" 

"He  has  been  to  see  her  once,  since  putting 
her  in  prison ;  this  was  eight  months  afterward. 
He  will  go  the  next  time  he  is  in  Filmore.  Start 
from  here." 

"About  how  far  is  it  to  the  prison  from  here?" 

"It's  over  a  hundred  miles  from  here." 

"Are  you  going  with  him?" 

"Yes." 

"And  you  go  in  April?" 

"Yes,  man;  but  why  do  you  ask  so  many  ques- 
tions about  her?  She  wouldn't  have  such  a  rusty 
as  you  are,  even  if  she  was  turned  loose  to-mor- 
row. She's  high  toned,  man.  To  be  the  posses- 
sor of  such  a  creature  as  she  is,  would  be  owning 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  445 

a  gem  most  rare.  Her  winning  manners,  her 
enchanting  voice  and  graceful  form,  her  beauti- 
ful complexion,  lovely  eyes  and  golden  hair,  com- 
bined with  her  lovely  disposition,  make  her  a 
treasure  which  few  are  worthy  of. '  * 

"My  dear  Henry,  you  talk  as  if  you  loved  her 
yourself. ' ' 

"Upon  my  soul,  it  is  true — that  person  does  not 
live  who  can  come  in  contact  with  her,  and  not 
love  and  respect  her,  except  it  be  a  man  like  Leh- 
man. I  do  not  love  her,  as  a  suitor ;  but  I  respect 
her  above  any  girl  I  ever  saw.  Because  of  know- 
ing her,  I  have  become  a  different  man.  Prior  to 
that,  my  only  aspirations  were  to  swear  and  get 
drunk.  I  used  the  roughest  language,  on  all 
occasions^that  my  mind  was  capable  of  coining. 
I  thought  there  was  little  in  the  world  for  a  labor- 
ing man,  and  perhaps  the  future  would  afford 
little  more.  I  so  expressed  myself  to  her  on  one 
occasion.  But,  O  man!  What  beautiful  lan- 
guage and  strong  argument  she  brought  to  bear 
upon  me.  I  was  out  driving  for  her  and  Flora, 
and  as  we  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  yonder  canon, 
I  became  so  interested  in  her  conversation  that  I 
stopped  the  team  dead  still  for  an  hour.  She 
talked  of  a  God  of  love  who  loves  us,  while  we 
are  yet  in  our  sins.  Her  description  of  the  divine 
plan  was  simply  glorious.  She  pointed  out  the 
true  way,  according  to  my  mind.  I  confess  I 
I  was  dumb-founded.  I  did  not  know  she  was  so 
strong,  mentally,  but  it  caught  me.     From  that 


446  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

day,  I  have  studied  the  Bible  and  other  useful 
books,  that  I  might  become  enlightened  and 
more  cultivated  in  my  manners.  Still,  my  rough 
nature  crops  out  at  times  in  spite  of  myself ;  still 
I  hope  to  advance  always,  and  it  is  all  through 
her  influence.  O  sir,  I  do  wish  she  was  away 
from  that  horrible  place,  and  the  remembrance  of 
her  suffering  when  she  was  left  there,  grieves 
me  sorely.  If  it  were  not  for  the  fear  of  death 
and  the  further  fact  of  betraying  a  trust,  I  would 
have  given  Lehman  away  long  ago  by  informing 
the  Federal  officers. ' ' 

"Give  me  her  place  of  hiding  and  I  will  have 
her  released  at  once. ' ' 

*'Who  are  you,  anyway?" 

Jed  feeling  that  he  had  enough,  already,  from 
Henry  to  make  himself  safe,  he  even  ventured 
beyond  the  instructions  of  Vernon  Stanton,  when 
he  answered  boldly:-^ 

"I  am  a  Gentile  looking  for  this  much-wronged 
girl.  Give  me  the  place  of  her  imprisonment 
and  I  will  see  that  you  are  protected,  and  pay 
you  well. ' ' 

"O  heavens,  man!  You  paralyze  me!  I  will 
be  offered  up  as  an  atonement  by  the  priesthood!" 

"Have  no  fear  of  that.  The  Gentiles  are 
becoming  numerous  all  over  the  Territory ;  there- 
fore, the  brethren  are  growing  a  little  cautious 
about  taking  human  life.  '* 

"But  I  cannot  betray  him — it  would  be  traitor- 
ous. * ' 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  447 

"Traitorous  to  do  right?  This  maid  is  wrong- 
fully imprisoned.  She  desires  to  be  free  and  it 
is  murderous  to  keep  silent,  and  thus  deprive  her 
of  the  richest  blessing  of  earth — freedom." 

"Sir,  I  did  not  know  that  I  was  talking  to  a 
Gentile  when  I  talked  in  my  rage.  I  will  not 
betray  any  one  knowingly ;  I  am  working  for  the 
bishop  and  receiving  his  gold  therefor;  but  I 
want  the  maid  set  free  with  all  my  soul.  Watch 
the  bishop  all  the  time,  during  the  days  from  the 
twenty-sixth  to  the  last  day  of  April.  Know 
where  he  is  all  the  time  and  you  can  discover  for 
yourself.  Get  a  good  horse,  for  you  will  have  to 
travel  at  least  fifty  miles  a  day." 

"Enough  said.  I  will  quit  work  here  about  the 
first  of  April  and  appear  at  the  proper  time.  * ' 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

At  day-break  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of 
April,  Jed  was  prepared  for  action.  He  rode  by- 
Bishop  Lehman's  house  and,  as  he  passed  the 
corral,  he  saw  in  the  twilight  the  well-known  fig- 
ures of  Lehman  and  Henry.  He  heard  Lehman 
say : — 

"Do  not  fail  to  set  the  box  of  beer  and  ice  in, 
as  the  water  is  very  bad  for  a  long  distance 
between  here  and  Cedar  City. ' ' 

"I  will  not  fail  to  do  this,  bishop,  as  I  know  the 
conditions  well,"  answered  Henry. 

"That  settles  it,"  said  Jed  to  himself.  "I 
know  where  they  are  going  now  and  I  will  ride 
on  ahead  and  keep  out  of  their  way. " 

He  noted  carefully  the  horses  and  the  covered 
spring  wagon,  so  that  he  would  not  be  mistaken 
at  any  time. 

In  the  days  when  he  had  driven  cattle,  he  had 
passed  the  old  prison  near  Cedar  City.  He  was 
familiar  with  the  country  around,  but  it  had  not 
entered  his  mind  that  this  awful  place  was  the 
place  where  Lola  was  being  kept. 

It  was  growing  dark  the  next  evening  when  he 
passed  the  unfrequented  road  leading  from  the 
main  highway  to  the  old  prison.  He  was  at  least 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead  of  Lehman  and  Henry. 

When  Jed  saw  the  bishop  and  his  rig  turn  toward 
the  lonely  prison,  a  cold  shudder  passed  through 
448 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  449 

his  frame,  as  it  dawned  upon  him  in  an  instant 
that  Lola  was  imprisoned  there.  He  stopped  for 
a  few  moments,  as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight  of 
the  vehicle,  then  thought  to  himself:  *'Can  it  be 
possible  that  the  old  scoundrel  has  incarcerated 
that  poor  girl  in  that  horrible  place?  If  he  has, 
he  is  more  vile  than  I  thought  it  possible  for 
humanity  to  be." 

It  had  not  occurred  to  Jed,  prior  to  this,  that 
Lola  was  kept  in  this  prison.  He,  yet,  half 
doubted  but  was  determined  to  know  the  whole 
truth.  He  cut  across  the  country,  taking  a 
shorter  route  than  the  wagon  road.  When  the 
bishop  and  Henry  drove  up,  it  was  very  dark. 
Jed  had  secured  a  long  pole  from  Old  Sally's  cor- 
ral, which  had  a  few  of  the  branches  still  on.  He 
stood  it  up  against  the  back  end  of  the  prison 
wall,  then  crept  silently  around  to  the  corner,  to 
watch  for  the  approach  of  Lehman,  who  was  then 
alighting  from  his  spring  wagon.  After  giving 
Henry  some  instructions,  Lehman  wrapped 
loudly  at  the  door,  which  was  quickly  answered 
by  a  shrill  voice  from  within : — 

"Who's  thar?" 

"It  is  I,"  answered  the  bishop. 

"And  who's  I?  Hain't  yer  got  sense  'nough  ter 
know  what  yer  name  is?" 

"Well,  well,  Sally.  I  thought  you  would  cer- 
tainly know  my  voice.  It's  Bishop  Lehman,  of 
course." 

"Yes,  I  thought  it  war  yer  by  sound;  but  Tve 

29 


45©  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

hearn  so  much  sound  in  my  time  that  war  lies, 
that  I  don'  b'lieve  anything  1  hear  no  more  frum 
certain  kinds  o'  people,"  said  Old  Sally,  as  she 
opened  the  door  and  stepped  outside.  Lehman 
said : — 

"But  I  am  certainly  not  among  that  class?" 

"No,  I  ji§t  guess  not.  A  man  who'd  imprison 
a  sweet  chile,  in  a  place  like  this,  for  over  two 
year,  and  not  come  back  but  wunst  during  ther 
time,  and  then  not  see  ther  ol'  critter  who 
had  her  in  charge,  is  not  a  liar,  I  know.  He 
hain't  any  bigger  liar  than  a  Mormon  missioner, 
I'll  agree;  but  he's  fully  as  big." 

"What's  the  matter  with  you,  old  witch,  to 
intimate  that  I  would  lie?  Have  you  forgotten 
who  I  am?" 

Sally  surveyed  him  from  head  to  foot  and 
peered  into  his  face  viciously,  saying : — 

"I  didn't  say  yer  would  lie,  any  more'n  yer 
Mormon  missioners;  but  I  do  say  yer  would 
tell  and  have  told  jist  as  big  ones  as  any  o' 
them." 

"Old  woman,  thou  shalt  be  dealt  with  by  the 
holy  priesthood,  in  prayer  circle  convened,  for 
this  infamous  insult — yes,  this  infamous  insult. ' ' 

"Ther  pra'r  circle  can't  skeer  me.  I'd  jist  as 
lief  die  as  not.  Then  yer  wouldn't  have  anybody 
ter  stay  here  in  this  hanted  place,  ter  torture  the 
sweet  gal  what's  in  thar;  besides,  Bish,  I  didn't 
say  yer  lied. ' ' 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  45 1 

*'Yes,  you  did,  and  I'll  have  no  more  of  your 
impudence." 

''Yer'U  either  hear  what  I  haf  ter  say  er  I'll 
crack  yer  pate  wi'  my  cane. " 

As  she  said  these  words  she  stamped  her  foot 
on  the  ground  and  raised  her  stick  in  a  threaten- 
ing manner.  The  bishop  hesitated,  and  she  con- 
tinued:— 

"I  didn't  say  nuthin'  'bout  yer  lyin.'  I  jist 
said  yer  'ud  tell  as  big  uns  as  a  Mormon  mis- 
sioner;  now  let  me  ax  yer  if  they  ever  lie?" 

"No,  they  do  not." 

"Then  I  didn't  say  yer  lied,  did  I?" 

"No — I  guess  I  was  a  little  hasty  in  displaying 
my  temper — yes,  a  little  hasty;  but  how  is  the 
little  laHy?     I  didn't  come  to  see  you,  Sally." 

"No,  I  jist  guess  not — yer  crack-doodle  Mor- 
mons seek  a  sweeter  prey  than  a'  ol'  hen  like  me. 
Come  along  an'  see  ther  sweet  gal  an'  maby  yer 
ol'  hard  heart'll  be  changed  a  little  an'  yer'U  let 
her  go  free." 

Jed  had  heard  all  the  conversation,  and,  as  they 
moved  into  the  building,  he  passed  around  to  the 
rear,  where  he  had  left  the  pole.  He  climbed  up 
with  the  aid  of  the  pole  and  lay  flat  on  the  top  of 
the  wall  to  the  court. 

Lola  was  standing  near  the  heavy  iron  door, 
evidently  listening  to  the  conversation  between 
Sally  and  Lehman.  She  was  pale  and  wasted 
from  long  mental  suffering  and  close  confinement. 

Lehman  lighted  a  lantern  which  he  carried  in 


45»  '  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

his  hand,  then  went  in  search  of  Lola.  After 
looking  into  all  the  rooms,  he  found  her  still 
standing  by  the  large  door.  She  was  shivering 
and  held  an  old  quilt  around  her,  for  her  clothing 
was  mere  tatters  and  rags.  The  bishop  ap- 
proached her  and  saluted  her  thus: — 

' '  Good  evening,  my  fair  love. ' ' 

*'Sir,  will  you  kindly  address  me  in  a  way  that 
I  can  return  the  salutation?"  she  answered. 

"I  cannot  speak  to  thee,  except  to  express  my 
true  devotion,  fair  one.  *  * 

"Then  'tis  better  not  to  speak  at  all. " 

**0  fairest  one,  talk  not  so  harshly  unto  me.  I 
have  worshiped  thee  so  long  and  have  loved 
thee  with  a  devotion  that  cannot  be  stamped  out. 
With  the  light  of  each  morn,  thy  image  appears 
before  me  and  does  not  vanish  when  my  eyes 
are  closed  in  slumber  at  night,  for  my  only 
dreams  are  of  thee.  The  sweetest  pleasure  I 
have  is,  when  in  dreamland,  I  imagine  thee  mine 
and  that  my  love  is  reciprocated;  then,  when  I 
awaken  and  find  it  a  dream,  language  cannot 
express  my  disappointment.  I  have  tried  every 
plan  that  my  brain  can  devise,  to  impress  this 
fact  upon  thy  mind,  and  I  earnestly  hope  that 
thou  hast  concluded  to  cast  aside  thy  obstinate 
spirit  and  obey  the  divine  will.  O  my  dear 
Lola,  be  my  bride,  and  everything  thy  heart  can 
wish  shall  be  thine — yes,  be  thine. ' ' 

"Sir,  do  not  ask  this  of  me.  Your  words  are 
contradictions  within  themselves  as  well  as  your 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  453 

actions.  You  say  that  if  I  will  be  your  bride, 
everything  my  heart  can  wish  shall  be  mine.  In 
the  first  place,  I  cannot  be  your  bride,  for  you 
have  a  wife.  And  again,  I  wish  for  only  two 
things  in  this  world;  the  first  is  liberty.  To  be 
yours  would  not  be  liberty;  for  the  liberty  I 
crave,  is  to  be  freed  from  your  grasp.  To  be 
your  concubine  would  be,  to  me,  the  passing  into 
that  dungeon  where  the  light  of  heaven  would 
never  penetrate.  Secondly,  I  long  to  be  sealed 
to  him  whom  I  love  with  all  my  heart.  Though 
he  is  dead,  I  love  him  with  a  devotion  which 
indicates  to  me,  that  a  separation  from  him  in 
the  future  life  would  be  a  life  void  of  happiness. 
This,  sir,  you  know  to  be  my  fondest  desire.  It 
is  incompatible  with  the  relation  you  ask  me  to 
assume.  I  have  never,  in  any  way,  encouraged 
you  to  love  me ;  on  the  contrary,  I  have  spurned 
it  with  all  my  being.  I  have  tried  every  way  in 
my  power  to  dissuade  you  and  turn  you  from 
such  an  unholy  feeling.  I  have  never  harmed 
you  nor  wished  you  harm ;  but  you  have  tortured 
me  most  cruelly — almost  beyond  endurance.  I 
cannot  survive  much  longer  under  this  oppression, 
as  I  am  fast  losing  my  vitality.  I  have  passed 
two  years  in  this  lonely,  dreary,  isolated  place, 
with  no  associates  but  Sally  and  the  hogs.  This, 
perhaps,  could  have  been  made  more  pleasant  if 
I  had  been  more  comfortably  provided  with  cloth- 
ing and  bedding.  Poor  Old  Sally  bought  me  a 
calico  dress  a  year  ago  and  would  have  bought 


454  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

me  more  if  she  could,  but  this  is  the  only  garment 
that  has  been  bought  for  me  since  I  came  here, 
and  my  wardrobe  was  reduced  to  the  scantiest 
condition  before  I  came;  yet  you  forced  me  to 
leave  one  half  of  that  behind.  I  have  not  a 
change  at  the  present,  even  of  these  rags,  neither 
have  I  had  for  three  months.  Nor  is  that  all — 
during  the  cold  blasts  of  the  last  two  winters,  I 
have  almost  frozen  to  death  at  times,  owing  to 
scanty  clothes  and  bedding.  Sally  has  given  me 
as  much  as  she  could  spare  of  her  bedclothes,  and 
many  times  during  the  coldest  weather  she  has 
given  me  all  of  hers,  while  she  sat  by  her  little 
fire  during  the  night  and  passed  away  the  hours. 
Often,  when  poor  Sally  was  worn  out  and  re- 
quired rest,  I  would  get  so  cold  I  would  take  my 
quilts  and  lay  with  the  hogs,  rather  than  disturb 
her,  and  this  was  all  that  kept  me  from  freezing. 
O  sir,  I  have  fought  only  for  life  with  the  hope 
that  I  might  live  to  be  sealed  to  Adrian,  then 
close  my  earthly  existence  and  go  to  him  and 
my  Maker!  O  Bishop  Lehman!  if  there  is  any 
pity  in  your  heart  I  now  ask,  on  bended  knees 
that  you  grant  it  in  my  behalf — show  some  mercy 
to  a  poor,  miserable  girl.  Permit  me  to  go,  even 
in  my  rags,  to  the  temple  to  be  sealed  to  Adrian, 
then  let  me  be  restored  to  my  parents  to  die." 

Jed  could  scarcely  control  his  rage  during  the 
rehearsal  of  these  facts,  and  when  she  knelt 
ringing  her  hands  and  pleading  to  the  brutal 
bishop,  the  quilt  fell  from  around  her  and  dis- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  455 

closed  her  rags.  She  was  half  facing  him,  with 
the  bishop  in  front  of  her  with  the  lantern,  so 
that  Jed  had  a  good  view  of  her.  He  saw  that 
she  was  literally  in  rags  which  scarcely  covered 
her  body.  He  was  moved  to  tears;  he  clinched 
his  fists  until  the  nails  sank  deep  into  the  flesh. 
Never  had  he  felt  like  taking  human  life  before; 
but  it  was  an  effort  for  him  to  refrain  from 
shooting  the  bishop  on  the  spot.  He  said  to 
himself: — 

*' Would  to  God  that  Mr.  Stanton  had  not  tied 
me  up  with  instructions  that  I  should  not  attempt 
to  rescue  her  alone ;  I  would  take  her  away  from 
this  place  at  once  or  die  in  the  attempt. '  * 

It  was  owing  to  a  long  trip  that  he  would  have  to 
make  with  her,  through  a  country  settled  entirely 
by  Saints,  and  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Stanton 
that  he  managed  to  keep  quiet.  In  answer  to 
Lola's  pleadings,  Lehman  said: — 

*'My  young  lady,  when  once  I  speak  I  keep  my 
word.  When  I  brought  thee  here  it  was  with  a 
full  determination  of  keeping  thee  here  until 
thou  wouldst  comply  with  the  revelation,  that 
thou  shouldst  be  my  sixth — yes,  my  sixth.  It  is 
not  concubinage  which  I  ask  of  thee,  but  to  be 
my  true,  devoted  wife  for  time.  This  revelation 
thou  must  comply  with  'or  thy  request  to  be 
sealed  to  Adrian  can  never  be  complied  with. 
Thou  must  learn  to  be  submissive  to  the  will  of 
God  in  all  things.  It  is  His  will  thou  shouldst 
be    mine   for  time,   and   Adrian's   for  eternity. 


456  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

He  took  Adrian  out  of  the  world  in  order  to  pre- 
pare a  way  for  the  fulfillment  of  this  plan — yes, 
for  the  fulfillment  of  this  plan.  Reject  the  will 
of  God  and  thou  must  die  without  the  hope  of 
meeting  Adrian  in  the  future  life.  I  left  thee 
here  for  a  short  period  the  first  time,  before  com- 
ing to  receive  thy  answer.  The  second  period 
was  longer ;  but,  if  thou  dost  force  me,  by  obsti- 
nacy, to  leave  thee  a  third  time,  thy  stay  will  be 
much  longer  than  it  was  in  both  the  first  and 
second  periods — yes,  in  both  the  first  and  second 
periods." 

These  words  of  the  bishop,  spoken  in  a  solemn 
monotone,  sank  deep  into  her  soul,  as  he  said  she 
must  comply  with  the  revelation  or  die  without 
the  hope  of  meeting  Adrian  in  the  future  life. 
She  stood  for  some  moments  while  a  great  strug- 
gle surged  in  her  heaving  breast.  She  had  for- 
saken every  other  faith  of  the  Saints  but  this. 
She  had  never  talked  with  Mr.  Stanton  upon  this 
point,  and,  thinking  that  this  was  the  faith  of  the 
Christian  people  of  the  world,  she  dreaded  to  die 
without  the  hope  of  meeting  her  lover  in  eternity  ; 
finally  she  said : — 

"O  sir,  I  cannot  live  much  longer  in  this  place ! 
Is  there  no  way  by  which  you  can  permit  me  to 
go  and  be  sealed  to  Adrian?  And,  if  not  permit- 
ted to  return  to  my  parents,  bring  me  here  to 
die." 

"There  is  no  way — absolutely  none,  by  which 
thou  canst  be  sealed  to  him,  except,  on  the  same 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  457 

day  thou  wilt  go  through  the  temple  as  my 
bride.  The  will  of  God  must  prevail — yes,  must 
prevail.  *' 

"Why  has  not  God  revealed  this  to  me?" 

"Because  of  thy  rebellious,  smful  disposition — 
yes,  sinful  disposition." 

"Ah!  I  see!  Will  you  kindly  explain  why 
He  wills  that  so  pure  and  holy  a  man  as  you  are, 
should  wed  such  a  rebellious  and  sinful  creature  as 
I,  especially  when  you  are  already  five  times  wed?" 

"It  is  not  for  me  to  question,  but  to  know  and 
do  His  will ;  I  will  not  enter  into  any  further  dis- 
cussion of  this  matter.  If  thou  art  not  ready  to 
comply,  I  will  be  going — yes,  going." 

"Oh,  may  I  see  my  parents  and  brother  before 
I  die?" 

"Thou  wilt  never  meet  them  on  earth  again, 
except  it  be  in  the  temple  first;  but  yield  to  the 
wiH  of  the  Lord,  as  revealed,  and  thou  shalt  see 
them  and  they  shall  be  restored  to  all  their  for- 
mer possessions." 

"Where  are  they  now,  I  pray?" 

"Thou  canst  not  know  unless  thou  wilt  yield  to 
my  pleadings." 

"Sir,  you  are  cruel  beyond  expression.  Have 
you  no  heart?  No  pity  in  your  soul?  Not  a  ves- 
tige of  human  kindness?  If  so,  release  me,  I 
pray;  for  I  cannot,  I  must  not,  yield  to  your 
desires. '  * 

"Then  farewell,  loved  one.  The  mission  of 
this  visit  is  over — yes,  over.'* 


45^  THE    FALSK     STAR. 

"Oh,  stay.  Is  there  nothing  I  can  say  or  do  to 
cause  you  to  relent  from  your  purpose?" 

"Nothing,  absolutely  nothing!" 

"May  I  sleep  in  the  room  with  Sally  during 
the  cold  winters,  if  I  should  live  so  long  and  take 
walks  with  her  on  the  outside,  to  make  me 
strong?" 

"Nay,  verily!  Dost  thou  think  I  have  brought 
thee  here  for  a  pleasure  outing?  Thou  shalt 
remain  within  these  walls  continuously." 

"O  sir,  I  am  already  sick,  unable  to  be  out 
here  at  this  moment;  but  my  great  desire  for 
liberty  gives  me  strength,  while  I  plead  with  but 
little  hope  to  you — you  who  hold  the  power  to 
make  me  free  and  happy. ' ' 

"Would  that  I  could  make  thee  happy.  This 
is  my  most  earnest  desire — yes,  my  most  earnest 
desire." 

"Then  set  me  free." 

"Thou  wilt  be  free  when  thou  art  mine  and  not 
before — nay,  not  before.  I  will  give  thee  just 
five  minutes  to  make  thy  final  decision — yes, 
final  decision. ' ' 

"O  Lord,  what  shall  I  do!  What  shall  I  do! 
I  must  be  liberated  from  this  place!"  she  said  as 
she  arose  and  turned  from  him.  It  was  a  great 
conflict — the  greatest  she  had  yet  experienced. 
She  feared  death  would  overtake  her  before  she 
was  sealed  to  Adrian;  yet  loathed  the  very 
thoughts  of  being,  in  any  way,  connected  with 
this  demon.  She  stood  sobbing  and  wringing  her 
hands;  then,  turning  to  him  she  said; — 


THE     FALSE    STAR.  459 

'*May  I  have  some  more  clothing  and  bedding 
in  order  that  I  can  endure  another  siege  at  this 
place?" 

"Thou  canst  have  more  clothing  and  every 
comfort  of  life  the  moment  thou  dost  consent  to 
be  mine ;  but  until  thou  dost,  thou  shalt  remain 
just  as  thou  art  situated.  Thou  must  be  taught 
a  lesson  of  humiliation  and  submission — yes,  sub- 
mission.*' 

She  turned  from  him  again  with  a  feeling  of 
sickening  disgust.  The  struggles  of  that  mo- 
ment were  worse  than  death.  The  vision  which 
appeared  to  her  the  night  she  was  separated  from 
her  parents  now  reappeared  to  her,  saying  in  the 
same  sweet  voice:  "Look  to  Jesus  and  you  shall 
conquer. ' ' 

Instantly,  she  was  inspired  by  the  thought  that 
should  she  come  in  contact  with  other  people,  by 
yielding  temporarily,  she  would  be  rescued.  She 
stood  motionless  until  startled  by  the  bishop, 
saying : — 

"Well,  what  do  I  hear?     Must  I  be  going?" 

* '  Oh,  do  not  hurry  me  in  this  matter !  My  heart 
is  breaking!" 

"Then,  farewell,  sweet  one;  may  heaven  bless 
thee." 

"One  moment!  When  did  you  say  I  could  be 
sealed  to  Adrian  ?  * ' 

"On  the  morning  of  the  day  that  thou  wilt 
accompany  me  through  the  temple.  First,  thou 
wilt  be  sealed  to  him;  then,   immediately,   thou 


460  THE     FALSE    STAR. 

wilt  accompany  me  through  the  temple  as  my 
bride." 

"Will  my  parents  be  there?" 

"They  will." 

She  felt  that  they  were  certainly  the  friends 
who  were  to  rescue  her;  but  Oh,  how  terrible 
would  be  her  condition  should  her  hopes  ot 
rescue  fail;  then  the  hope  came  to  her  that, 
should  they  fail  to  rescue  her,  God  in  his  mercy 
would  take  her  from  this  world  as  soon  as  she 
was  sealed  to  Adrian.  Putting  all  her  trust  in 
the  Saviour,  praying  that  she  would  conquer,  she 
turned  to  him,  saying : — 

"Name  the  day  that  I  shall  be  sealed  to  my 
lover." 

"O  my  precious  love,  come  to  my  arms,"  he 
said,  as  he  set  the  lantern  on  the  ground  and 
started  with  arms  extended  wide  to  embrace  her. 

"Stop!  Touch  me  not!"  she  said,  then  contin- 
uing, "My  answer  gives  you  no  privilege  for 
such  disgusting  familiarity." 

"But  may  I  not  seal  our  engagement  with  a 
kiss?" 

"A  free  and  voluntary  engagement,  based  on 
pure  love,  might  warrant  such  a  proceeding;  but 
when  forced  by  reason  of  fear  of  death  and  in 
order  to  accomplish  another  purpose  before  death 
comes,  is  altogether  another  proposition.  Name 
the  day,  Bishop  Lehman,  in  which  I  can  be 
sealed  to  Adrian  and  no  foolishness." 

"I  will  not,  unless  it  be  sealed  with  a  kiss." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  461 

**Sir,  show  that  you  have  some  degree  of  honor 
and  decency.  Name  the  day  or  leave  me 
instantly,  in  my  filth  and  rags." 

"I  will,  my  dear,  I  will.  Let  me  see — I  will 
be  compelled  to  make  a  trip  to  the  Garden  City 
to  get  my  four  women  who  are  there,  also  some 
friends  and  a  number  of  the  dignitaries  from  Zion 
and  several  other  places.  This  is  the  27th  of 
April — we  will  set  the  time  for  the  20th  of  May, 
if  you  agree." 

*  "I  have  nothing  to  say  or  do  in  the  matter. 
Unfortunately  for  me,  I  am  too  weak  to  do  as  I 
like,  hence  I  am  compelled  to  submit  to  the  will 
of  others." 

"Then  let  the  20th  day  of  May  be  set  as  the 
day,  at  the  temple  at  St.  George.  Anything  to 
please  thee,  my  darling. ' ' 

Lola  stood  silent,  half  regretting  that  she  had 
consented  to  any  proposition  that  he  had  made. 

"Now,  my  love,  what  dost  thou  wish?" 

"I  want  my  liberty  and  sufficient  clothing,  that 
I  may  be  clean  and  comfortable." 

**I  have  brought  thy  clothing  with  me,  sweet 
one.  Thou  canst  go  into  Sally's  room  now,  and 
stay  until  I  can  make  arrangements  for  more 
comfortable  quarters  for  thee. ' ' 

They  went  in  and  immediately  a  trunk  of  cloth- 
ing and  bedding  was  brought  into  the  room,  b}'- 
Lehman  and  Henry,  when  Lehman  said : — 

* '  Give  my  precious  darling  every  comfort  possi- 
ble, Sally.     Within  six  days  she  will  be  removed 


462  THE     FALSE    STAR. 

to  another  place — ^yes,  another  place.  I  will 
grant  thee  the  privilege  of  taking  walks  outside 
the  prison,  but  avoid  coming  in  contact  with  any- 
one.     Good-night,  and  may  heaven  bless  thee." 

He  closed  the  door  behind  him,  climbed  into 
his  vehicle.  When  they  started  away,  he  whis- 
pered to  Henry  merrily:  "I  have  won  my  pretty 
dove. ' ' 

The  future  looked  dark  and  uncertain  to  Lola. 
She  felt  that  if  she  could  be  permitted  to  be  sealed 
to  Adrian  and  then  die,  the  fondest  hopes  would 
be  realized,  but  if  her  friends  were  able  to  save 
her  from  Lehman's  grasp,  after  she  was  sealed  to 
Adrian,  she  desired  to  live  and  fancied  that  she 
could  still  be  happy. 

The  time  wore  heavily  on,  though  her  comforts 
were  greatly  increased;  yet  her  sorrow  was  so 
great  that  she  declined  physically. 

A  week  later  she  was  removed  to  St.  George, 
to  the  home  of  one  of  the  leading  Saints  of  that 
stake,  where  they  endeavored  to  entertain  her  in 
the  most  sumptuous  way.  This,  however,  had 
no  power  to  soothe  her,  and  she  longed  for  the 
companionship  of  the  poor  outcast  but  honest- 
hearted  Sally.  She  grew  more  frail  as  the  days 
passed  on,  feeling  at  times  that  the  end  was 
near,  yet  hoping  and  praying  that  life  would  last 
until  sealed  to  Adrian. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

The  morning  for  the  sealing  and  endowment 
came.  St.  George  had  never  witnessed  so  many 
of  the  dignitaries  of  the  church  within  her  limits. 
All  were  happy  and  gay  except  Lola.  The  time 
had  come  for  them  to  go  to  the  temple,  but  still 
she  had  seen  no  signs  of  any  one  who  would  lend 
her  aid.  She  was  very  weak  from  weeping  and 
the  effects  of  a  slow  fever,  which  was  now  prey- 
ing upon  her.  She  felt  that  her  deliverance 
could  not  be  other  than  death.  She  brought  all 
her  strength  and  energy  to  bear,  saying: — 

'*I  must  endure,  until  I  am  sealed  to  Adrian." 

When  all  was  in  readiness  and  she  had  a  few 
minutes  to  herself,  she  knelt  and  poured  out  her 
soul  in  silent  prayer  to  God.  Then  placing  all 
her  trust  in  the  Saviour,  she  arose  and  walked 
with  firm  step  into  the  room  where  Lehman  and 
his  company  awaited  her. 

They  march  out  to  the  carriage,  she  walking 
by  Lehman's  side,  the  crowd  following.  Bishop 
Blatherskite  and  Zina  marching  next  to  Lehman 
and  Lola.  Zina  rebuked  Lola,  for  her  not  taking 
the  bishop's  arm.  After  all  were  seated  in  their 
carriages,  they  were  driven  immediately  to  the 
temple. 

They  were  prepared  with  a  lunch,  and  the  can- 
didates with  a  change  of  clothing.     They   and 
their  friends  were  admitted  into  the  outer  office, 
463 


464  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

where,  for  the  first  time  in  four  years,  Lola  met 
her  foster  parents.  It  was  an  affecting  scene, 
as  the  father  embraced  the  child,  and  the  silent 
tears  fell  from  his  e5^es,  both  unable  to  speak. 

Then  came  the  meeting  of  Lola  and  her 
mother.  Mrs.  Allison  was  almost  overcome  and 
could  not  control  her  emotion,  even  in  the  holy 
temple.  She  caught  her  in  her  arms,  shrieking 
between  her  sobs : — 

**God  bless  you,  my  child." 

While  Lola  was  only  able  to  say: — 

*'My  blessed  mother." 

They  embraced  each  other;  then  Lola  pre- 
pared for  the  celestial  chamber,  where  she  was 
to  be  sealed  to  Adrian.  When  all  was  in  read- 
iness they  marched  to  the  celestial  chamber,  all 
being  robed  in  white.  When  everything  was 
properly  arranged,  Lola  knelt  at  the  altar.  High 
dignitaries  of  the  church,  representing  and  im- 
personating Eloheim,  or  head  god,  Jehovah, 
Jesus,  Michael,  Apostles  Peter,  James  and  John, 
and  Mother  Eve,  all  in  white,  surrounded  her. 
Then,  one  representing  and  impersonating 
Adrian,  also  dressed  the  same,  came  from  the 
room  of  holiness,  whence  a  white  dazzling  light 
shone,  taking  his  place  by  Lola's  side. 

Then  all  knelt  and  a  prayer  was  offered  by 
Eve  for  Lola,  followed  by  low  solemn  music  and 
singing  behind  the  scenes.  After  the  song, 
Eloheim,  in  concert  with  the  other  imperson-. 
^tors,  §ai^  in  solemn  monotones ;-— 


THE    FALSa    STAR.  465 

"Dear  Sister  Lola  Allison,  didst  thou  hear  the 
representative  voices  of  the  angels  who  are  to 
welcome  thee  into  the  celestial  kingdom?" 

"I  did." 

Then  Eloheim  continued  alone : — 

'*Dost  thou,  my  sister,  solemnly  declare  in  the 
presence  of  Almighty  God,  the  heavenly  hosts, 
and  these  witnesses,  that  it  is  thy  most  earnest 
desire  to  be  sealed  unto  Brother  Adrian  Wal- 
tham,  who  has  departed  this  life,  to  be  his 
wedded  wife  for  all  eternity?" 

"I  do." 

**This  being,  who  kneeleth  beside  thee,  is  the 
proxy  of  him  who  sleepeth.  He  will  act  for  and 
in  the  name  of  the  departed  brother.  Thou 
wilt,  therefore,  join  right  hands  with  him  and 
arise  to  your  feet.  * ' 

They  joined  right  hands  and  arose,  when 
Eloheim  continued : — 

'*Dost  thou,  Brother  Wyatt  Soble,  in  the  name 
of  and  for,  Brother  Adrian  Waltham,  deceased, 
take  Sister  Lola  Allison  by  the  right  hand,  to  re- 
ceive her  for  him,  to  be  his  wedded  wife  for  eter- 
nity and  he  to  be  her  wedded  husband  for  the  same, 
with  a  covenant  on  his  part,  that  he  will  fulfill  all 
the  laws,  rights  and  ordinances,  pertaining  to 
this  holy  and  celestial  matrimony,  in  the  new  and 
everlasting  covenant,  doing  this  in  the  presence 
of  God,  angels,  and  these  witnesses,  for  him  and 
of  his  own  free  will  and  choice?" 

'*In  the  name  of  Adrian  Waltham,  I  do." 

90 


466  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

"Dost  thou,  Sister  Lola  Allison,  take  Brother 
Wyatt  Soble  by  the  right  hand,  as  the  proxy  of 
Brother  Adrian  Waltham,  deceased,  and  give 
thyself  to  said  Brother  Adrian  Waltham  to  be 
his  wedded  wife  for  eternity,  with  a  covenant  on 
thy  part,  that  thou  wilt  fulfill  all  the  laws,  rights 
and  ordinances,  pertaining  to  this  holy  and  celes- 
tial matrimony,  in  the  new  and  everlasting  cov- 
enant, doing  this  in  the  presence  of  God,  angels, 
and  these  witnesses,  of  thy  own  free  will  and 
choice?" 

"Ida" 

"In  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith  and  by  the  authority  of 
the  holy  priesthood,  I  pronounce  thee  husband 
and  wife  for  all  eternity  and  seal  upon  thee  the 
blessing  of  the  holy  resurrection,  with  power  to 
come  forth  in  the  morning  of  the  first  resurrec- 
tion, clothed  in  glory,  immortality,  and  eternal 
lives;  and  I  seal  upon  thee,  the  blessings  of 
thrones,  and  dominions  and  principalities,  and 
powers  and  exaltations,  together  with  the  bless- 
ings of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  All  these 
blessings,  together  with  all  other  blessings,  per- 
taining to  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  I 
seal  upon  thy  hands,  through  thy  faithfulness 
unto  the  end,  by  the  authority  of  the  holy  priest- 
hood, in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost.     Amen." 

The  scribe  then  entered  on  the  record  the 
whole  matter,  together  with  the  date  an4  place 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  467 

of  sealing,  and  the  names  of  three  witnesses,  one 
of  which  was  Bishop  Francis  Lehman. 

The  whole  company  then  returned  to  their 
respective  dressing  rooms  and  soon  appeared 
again  at  the  outer  office,  preparatory  to  the  mar- 
riage, for  time,  of  Lehman  and  Lola. 

Their  accounts  with  the  church  were  duly  ver- 
ified by  the  clerk.  They  were  then  declared  in 
the  first  or  pre-existent  estate.  Their  names, 
ages,  and  the  dates  of  their  conversion  and  bap- 
tism were  duly  entered  in  the  register,  their  tith- 
ing receipts  inspected  and  found  correct  and  an 
entry  made  of  them.  Evidence  was  received  of 
the  faithful  attendance  of  the  bishop  at  public 
service  and  at  the  "School  of  the  Prophets," 
which  is  usually  necessary  in  the  case  of  the 
woman;  but,  owing  to  Lola's  incarceration,  it 
was  omitted  with  reference  to  her.  It  was  care- 
fully noted  in  the  record  that  the  bishop  had  been 
sealed  for  eternity  to  forty-seven  women  and  that 
Lola  had  been  sealed  to  one  man.  They  then 
removed  their  shoes  and  were  preceded  by  the 
attendants,  who  wore  white  slippers,  to  the  cen- 
tral ante-room,  with  slow  and  measured  step.  It 
was  a  narrow  hall,  separated  by  white  screens 
from  two  other  rooms,  to  the  right  and  the  left. 
Death-like  silence  prevailed.  The  attendants 
communicated  by  mysterious  signs  and  low  whis- 
pers. A  dim,  mellow  light  pervaded  the  rooms. 
The  faint  plash  of  falling  water  behind  the 
screens  was  all  they  heard.      They  halted  a  few 


468  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

moments  in  solemn  waiting.  Lola  had  hoped  to 
be  rescued  either  by  death  or  friends,  ere  this. 
Her  only  hope  of  escape,  now,  was  death;  yet, 
under  the  excitement,  she  was  even  stronger  than 
when  they  had  started  for  the  temple  and  she 
thought  to  herself:  "Death  will  not  come  in  tyne 
to  save  me  from  contamination.  All  that  is  left 
to  me  is  to  trust  in  Jesus. " 

The  bishop  was  led  to  the  washing  room  to  the 
right,  accompanied  by  the  male  attendants,  while 
Lola  was  led  to  the  left,  accompanied  by  the 
female  attendants. '  She  was  stripped,  placed  in 
a  bath  and  washed  from  head  to  foot  by  a  woman 
set  apart  for  that  purpose,  while  the  bishop  sim- 
ply awaited  in  his  apartment,  after  being  prop- 
erly dressed  for  the  further  service,  as  he  had 
been  cleansed  and  blessed  before. 

As  Lola  was  being  washed,  every  member  was 
specially  blessed,  as  the  washer  said : — 

' '  Sister,  I  wash  thee  clean  from  the  blood  of  this 
generation  and  prepare  thy  members  for  lively 
service  in  the  way  of  all  the  true  Saints.  I  wash 
thy  head,  that  it  may  be  prepared  for  the  crown  of 
glory  awaiting  thee  as  a  faithful  Saint  and  the 
fruitful  wife  of  a  holy  priest  of  the  Lord,  that  thy 
brain  may  be  quick  in  discernment  and  thy  eyes 
able  to  perceive  the  truth  and  avoid  the  snares  of 
the  enemy;  thy  mouth,  to  show  forth  the  praise 
of  the  immortal  gods  and  thy  tongue  to  pronounce 
the  true  name  which  will  admit  thee  hereafter 
behind  the  veil  and  by  which  thou  wilt  be  known, 


THE     FALSE    STAR.  469 

in  the  celestial  kingdom.  I  wash  thine  arms,  to 
labor  in  the  cause  of  righteousness  and  thy  hands 
to  be  strong  in  the  building  up  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  by  all  manner  of  profitable  works.  I  wash 
thy  breasts,  that  thou  mayest  prove  a  fruitful 
vine,  that  thou  mayest  nourish  a  strong  race  of  wit- 
nesses, earnest  in  the  defense  of  Zion ;  thy  body, 
to  present  it  as  an  acceptable  tabernacle  when 
thy  summons  comes  to  pass  behind  the  veil,  to 
join  thy  celestial  husband ;  thy  loins,  that  it  may 
by  thine  to  bring  forth  a  numerous  race  to  crown 
thee  with  eternal  glory  and  s£rengthen  the  heav- 
enly kingdom  of  thy  celestial  husband,  thy  master, 
and  glory  in  the  Lord.  I  wash  thy  knees  upon 
which  to  prostrate  thyself  and  humbly  receive  the 
truth  from  God's  holy  priesthood;  thy  feet  to 
walk  in  the  ways  of  righteousness  and  stand  firm 
upon  the  appointed  places;  and,  now,  I  pro- 
nounce thee  clean  from  the  blood  of  this  genera- 
tion and  thy  body  an  acceptable  tabernacle  for 
the  indwelling  of  the  holy  spirit. '  * 

She  was  then  given  a  new  name  by  which  she 
would  be  known  in  the  celestial  kingdom.  She 
was  also  anointed  with  oil,  which  was  rubbed 
in  her  hair.  The  bishop  escaped  this  also,  as  he 
had  already  been  anointed.  She  was  then  clad 
in  a  sort  of  tunic  or  close-fitting  garment,  reaching 
from  the  neck  to  the  floor.  She  was  informed 
that  this  was  her  endowment  garment  and  it  was 
specially  blessed  for  this  purpose  and  that  she 
should  never  be  without  this  or  a  similar  one 


470  THE     FALSE    STAR. 

next  to  the  body,  which  would  protect  her  from 
harm  and  the  assaults  of  the  devil.  Over  this 
tunic,  they  put  her  ordinary  underclothing,  and 
over  this  a  robe,  used  only  for  this  purpose, 
which  was  made  of  fine  linen,  plaited  on  the 
shoulders,  gathered  around  the  waist  to  a  band 
and  falling  to  the  floor  all  around.  They  then 
placed  a  cap  of  fine  linen  on  her  head  and  white 
cotton  slippers  on  her  feet.  Lehman  was  now 
clad  similarly. 

The  next  thing  .they  heard  was  a  preparatory 
debate  in  the  grand  council  of  the  gods,  as  to 
whether  they  should  make  man.  Eloheim, 
Jehovah,  Jesus  and  Michael  rehearsed  a  short 
drama  in  blank  verse,  representing  the  various 
steps  in  the  creation  of  the  world.  Eloheim 
enumerated  the  work  of  each  day  and  commended 
it  all.  At  the  close  of  each  the  others,  in  respon- 
sive chorus,  shouted  to  the  glory,  magnificence 
and  beauty  of  the  work,  when  they  concluded, 
as  follows: — 

Eloheim — "Now  all  is  done  and  earth  with 
animate  life  is  glad.  The  stately  elephant  to 
browse  in  the  forest,  the  ramping  lion  in  the 
mountain  caves,  gazelles,  horned  cattle,  and 
fleecy  flocks  spread  o'er  the  grassy  vales;  Behe- 
moth rolls  his  bulk  in  shady  fens  by  river  banks, 
among  the  ooze,  and  the  great  whale  beneath  the 
waters,  and  fowl  to  fly  above  in  the  open  firma- 
ment of  heaven.  Upon  the  earth  behold  bears, 
ounces,  tigers,  leopards  and  every  creeping  thing 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  47I 

that  moves  upon  the  ground.  Each  after  his 
kind  shall  bring  forth  and  multiply  upon  the 
earth;  and  there  lacks  the  master  work,  the 
being  in  the  form  and  likeness  of  the  gods,  erect 
to  stand,  his  maker  praise,  and  over  all  the  rest 
dominion  hold."  Jehovah,  Jesus  and  Michael 
repeated  in  concert  the  following: — 

"Let  us  make  man,  in  image,  form,  and  like- 
ness of  our  own ;  and  as  becomes  our  soul  com- 
plete representative  on  earth,  to  him  upright, 
dominion  give,  and  power  over  all  that  flies, 
swims,  creeps  or  walks  upon  the  earth." 

Lehman  was  then  placed  on  the  floor,  his 
eyes  closed,  the  gods  entered  and  manipulated 
him  limb  by  limb,  specifying  the  various  offices 
that  each  member  should  fill,  at  the  same  time 
they  pretended  to  create  and  mould  the  same. 
They  slapped  him  to  vivify  their  power;  then 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  and 
raised  him  to  his  feet.  For  the  sixth  time,  Leh- 
man was  supposed  to  be  as  Adam,  newly  made, 
completely  ductile,  mobile  in  the  hands  of  the 
three  representing  divines. 

Then  came  the  second  estate.  Lehman  and 
the  men  filed  into  the  next  room,  which  repre- 
sented the  Garden  of  Eden.  There  were  shrubs 
and  trees  from  the  tropic  clime  in  pots,  paintings 
of  mountain  scenes,  fountains  and  flowers,  gor- 
geous curtains  and  carpets ;  which,  under  a  soft 
light,  presented  a  beautiful  scene  of  dazzling 
splendor.     As  the  men  moved  around  the  garden 


472  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

to  the  time  of  music,  another  discussion  arose 
between  the  gods;  Michael  proposed  several 
animals  in  turn,  as  the  associate  of  man,  which 
were  successively  rejected  by  Jehovah,  Jesus  and 
Eloheim.  Lehman  was  laid  recumbent  on  the 
floor,  his  eyes  closed  and,  in  pantomime,  a  rib 
was  taken  from  his  side,  out  of  which,  in  an 
adjoining  room,  they  proposed  to  make  his  sixth. 
Lehman  was  commanded  to  awake  and  see  his 
new  wife,  for  the  first  time  since  separating  from 
her  at  the  entrance.  As  Lola  heard  the  words 
"new  wife,"  she  almost  fainted  and  felt  that  she 
could  not  take  another  step.  She  saw  that  she 
was  dressed  almost  identical  with  Lehman.  She 
said  to  herself  many  times : — 

"Oh,  will  my  deliverance  never  come?" 
They  walked  around  the  garden  led  by  the 
officiating  Adam  and  Eve.  At  this  juncture 
Satan  entered,  dressed  in  a  tight-fitting  suit  of 
black  velvet,  short  jacket,  knee  pants,  black 
stockings,  and  double  pointed  slippers.  He  wore 
a  hideous  mask  and  double  pointed  helmet.  Lola 
and  Eve  were  separated  from  Adam  and  Leh- 
man, when  Satan,  approaching  Eve,  began  to 
praise  her  beauty;  then,  proffered  to  her  the 
temptation,  in  language  so  shocking,  that  Lola 
was  unable  to  proceed  with  the  ceremony,  except 
by  proxy,  for  some  time.  This  part  of  the  cere- 
mony, as  it  actually  took  place,  is  too  monstrous 
for  human  belief;  the  moral  of  which  is  to  unsex 
the  sexes. 


THE     FALSE    STAR.  473 

Those  conducting  the  ceremony  explained  to 
Lola  that  this  portion  of  the  endowment  should 
be  conducted  with  the  candidate's  attendants  and 
all  present  should  be  as  were  Adam  and  Eve 
when  first  placed  in  the  Garden  of  Eden;  but, 
owing  to  the  prejudices  existing  in  the  minds  of 
some  of  the  women  and  the  fact  that,  even  the 
Saints  were  not  yet  sufficiently  perfect  and  pure- 
minded  to  warrant  this,  and  that  the  enemies  of 
the  church  would  use  it  as  a  weapon  against  the 
Saints,  this  part  of  the  ceremony  had  been 
changed. 

A  bunch  of  grapes  was  handed  to  the  proxy  of 
Lola  from  the  forbidden  tree  by  Satan.  She 
yielded  and  partook  of  the  fruit  and  was  soon 
joined  by  Lehman  when  she  offered  him  part  of 
the  fruit.  He  hesitated  at  first  but  was  soon  so 
overcome,  by  her  reproaches  and  entreaties,  that 
he  accepted.  They  grew  delirious  under  the 
effects  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  joined  hands, 
embraced  and  danced  around  the  room  until  they 
fell  exhausted. 

They  then  heard  a  loud  chorus  of  groans  and 
lamentations  behind  the  curtains,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  sudden  crash  as  of  thunder.  The 
curtains  parted  at  a  point  where  the  painting 
represented  a  dense  forest  and  Eloheim  appeared 
in  the  opening,  behind  him  a  brilliant  light.  He 
was  clad  in  a  gorgeous  robe  bespangled  with 
brilliants  and  gorgeous  stripes,  which  was  daz- 
zling to  the  eye.  As  he  approached,  he  said  in 
solemn  tones: — 


474  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

''Where  art  thou,  Adam,  erst  created  first  of  all 
earth's  tribes  and  wont  to  meet  with  joy  thy 
coming  Lord?" 

Adam  answered: — 

"Afar  I  heard  Thy  coming,  in  the  thunder's 
awful  voice ;  Thy  footsteps  shook  the  earth  and 
dread  seized  all  my  frame,  I  saw  myself  in  naked 
shame,  unfit  to  face  Thy  majesty." 

"How  know'st  thou  of, thy-  shame?  My  voice 
thou  oft  hast  heard,  and  feared  it  not.  What  hast 
thou  done?  Hast  eaten  of  that  tree  to  thee 
forbid?" 

"Shall  I  accuse  the  partner  of  my  life  or  on 
myself  the  total  crime  avow?  But  what  avails 
concealment  with  earth's  Lord?  His  thoughts  dis- 
cern my  inmost  hidden  sense.  The  woman  Thou 
gav'st  to  be  my  help  beguiled  me  with  her  per- 
fect charms,  by  Thee  endowed,  acceptable,  divine, 
she  gave  me  of  the  fruit,  and  I  did  eat. ' ' 

"Say,  woman,  what  is  this  thou  hast  done?"  said 
Eloheim  to  Eve. 

"The  serpent  beguiled  me  and  I  did  eat," 
answered  Eve.  Then  Eloheim  said  to  Satan: 
"Because  thou  hast  done  this,  thou  art  cursed 
above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the 
field ;  upon  thy  belly  thou  shalt  go  and  dust  thou 
shalt  eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life :  And  I  will  put 
enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman  and  be- 
tween thy  seed  and  her  seed,  it  shall  bruise  thy 
head  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel. ' ' 

Satan  then  fell  upon  the  floor,  struggled  and 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  475 

writhed  with  many  contortions,  and  finally- 
wriggled  out  of  the  room.  Then  Eloheim  said 
to  Eve  :— 

*'I  will  greatly  multiply  thy  sorrow  and  thy 
conception ;  in  sorrow  thou  shalt  bring  forth  chil- 
dren; and  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband, 
and  he  shall  rule  over  thee.** 

Turning  to  Adam  he  said: — 

"Because  th(?li  hast  barkened  unto  the  voice  of 
thy  wife  and  hast  eaten  of  the  tree,  of  which  I 
commanded  thee  saying,  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of 
it,  cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake,  in  sorrow 
thou  shalt  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life ;  thorns 
also  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee,  and 
thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field ;  in  the  sweat 
of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return 
unto  the  ground ;  for  out  of  it  thou  wert  taken ; 
for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  thou  shalt 
return.'* 

Then  Adam  and  Eve  fell  upon  the  floor,  beat 
their  breasts,  rent  their  clothes,  and  bewailed 
their  lost  and  sinful  condition.     Eloheim  said : — 

"Now  is  man  fallen,  indeed.  The  accursed 
power  which  first  made  war  in  heaven,  hath 
practiced  fraud  on  earth.  By  Adam's  transgres- 
sion shall  all  be  under  sin;  the  moral  nature 
darkened,  and  none  could  know  the  truth,  but 
cries  of  penitence  have  reached  my  ears,  and 
higher  power  shall  redeem.  Upon  this  earth  I 
place  my  holy  priesthood.  To  them  as  unto  Me 
in    humble    reverence    bow.      Man,    fallen    by 


476  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Satan's  wiles,  shall  by  obedience  rise.  Behold, 
the  woman's  seed  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head; 
from  her  a  race  proceed  endowed  on  earth  with 
power  divine.  To  them  shall  man  submit  and 
regain  the  paradise  now  lost  through  disobedi- 
ence. With  power  divine  the  priesthood  is 
endowed,  but  not  in  fullness  now.  Obey  them 
as  the  incarnate  voice  of  God,-  and  in  time's  full- 
ness woman's  seed  shall  all  that's  lost  restore  to 
man.  By  woman,  first  fallen,  Adam  fell,  from 
woman's  seed  the  priesthood  shall  arise,  redeem- 
ing man;  and  man  in  turn  shall  Eve  exalt,  restor- 
ing her  to  the  paradise  of  her  first  lost.  Mean- 
while go  forth,  ye  fallen  ones,  with  only  nature's 
light,  and  seek  for  truth. ' ' 

Here  a  small  white  square  linen  apron  was 
placed  upon  the  candidates  with  emblematical 
marks  thereon  and  green  pieces  representing  fig 
leaves.  They  then  knelt  and  joined  in  solemn 
oath,  repeating  after  Adam;  to  the  effect  that 
they  would  each  preserve  the  secrets  inviolably, 
under  a  penalty  of  being  brought  to  the  block, 
and  having  their  blood  spilled  upon  the  ground  as 
an  atonement  for  their  sins,  and  that  each  of 
them  would  obey  the  priesthood,  and  submit 
themselves  to  it  in  all  things. 

Lola  had  revived  sufficiently  to  take  her  place 
again  at  the  beginning  of  the  oath,  but  refused 
to  take  any  part  or  repeat  the  same.  Still  they 
proceeded,  as  they  all  knew  before  starting  in 
that  there  were  some  things  she  would  not  com- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  477 

ply  with.  Lehman  further  swore  that  he  would 
not  take  any  woman  unless  given  him  by  the  first 
presidency  of  the  church.  A  grip  and  word  was 
then  conferred,  and  this  completed  the  first 
degree  of  the  Aaronic  priesthood. 

They  were  now  supposed  to  have  entered  into 
life,  and  the  light  became  as  darkness.  They 
passed  into  the  next  room,  which  was  almost 
dark,  through  a  narrow  passage.  Heavy  cur- 
tains shut  out  all  but  a  few  rays  of  light.  They 
moved  about  over  the  room  stumbling  over 
blocks  and  against  furniture.  Voices  were  heard 
calling  here  and  there,  "here  is  light,"  *' there  is 
light,"  in  different  parts  of  the  room,  and  a  con- 
test was  carried  on  at  the  same  time,  by  persons 
set  apart  for  that  purpose,  calling  themselves 
Methodists,  Catholics,  Baptists,  Presbyterians, 
etc.,  etc.  The  contest  was  opened  by  Ezekiel 
Broadrim,  saying: — 

*' Verily,  my  soul  is  greatly  troubled  for  thee, 
O  my  troubled  brother !  In  thy  darkened  condi- 
tion thou  lackest  spiritual  understanding.  The 
light  in  thee  is  like  unto  darkness;  thou  hast 
lost  the  spirit ;  thou  art  altogether  without  hope 
in  the  world — yea,  verily.  But  read  the  Holy 
Word  and  regard  the  inner  witness,  then  thou 
shalt  find  peace  unto  thy  soul.  Resist  not  evil ; 
for  even  the  Prince  of  Peace  did  submit  him- 
self unto  wrong.  If  any  man  take  thy  cloak 
away,  give  him  thy  coat  also.  Shed  no  blood  in 
anger— speak  evil  of  no  man^omfort  the  widows 


47^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

and  orphans,  and  give  unto  thy  brother  in  want ; 
do  unto  others  as  you  would  that  others  do  unto 
you.  Pray  for  light  always,  and  thou  shalt 
receive  the  spirit  witness — yea,  verily." 

Then  Parson  Calvin  Mather  said  in  a  solemn 
nasal  tone : — 

''God,  the  father  of  all  mercies,  has  been  most 
graciously  pleased  for  his  own  glory  and  praise, 
to  elect  from  the  children  of  men  all  those  who 
should  receive  His  saving  grace.  But  lo,  this  is 
a  sinful  world,  where  man,  in  his  fallen  state,  is 
given  over  to  the  vices  and  desires  of  his  sinful 
nature.  In  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the 
bond  of  iniquity,  you  wander  in  the  darkness 
of  your  own  minds;  all  thoughts  emanating  from 
your  hearts  are  wholly  evil  in  the  sight  of  heaven ; 
your  righteousness  is  as  filthy  rags — yea,  even  as 
carrion,  and  from  the  crown  of  your  head  to  the 
soles  of  your  feet  ye  are  wounds,  bruises  and 
putrifying  sores,  for  there  is  none  righteous,  no 
not  one.  Let  us  close  our  eyes  to  Satan's  wiles 
and  come  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  that,  peradvent- 
ure,  we  may  prove  to  be  of  the  very  elect  as  fore- 
ordained and  decreed  before  the  world  was.  For 
in  and  of  ourselves,  we  can  do  nothing.  There- 
fore, my  brethren,  bring  your  children  to  the 
altar  that  they  may  be  sprinkled ;  then,  if  it  is  so 
recorded  that  they  are  to  be  saved,  such  will  be 
the  case;  otherwise,  though  but  a  span  in  length, 
they  must  writhe  and  groan  through  the  ages  of 
eternity  in  the  sulphurous  flames  of  the  bottom- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  479 

less  pit.  May  the  Lord  bless  and  sanctify  this 
awful  truth,  to  the  everlasting  good  of  your 
anxious  souls.     Amen." 

The  Right  Rev.  Cream  Cheese  Pontifico  then 
expostulated : — 

"The  Lord  standeth  in  his  holy  temple;  let  all 
the  earth  bow  in  humbfe  silence  before  Him. 
By  the  word  of  Jesus,  and  his  holy  apostles,  was 
the  apostolic  church  founded.  The  glorious  con- 
course of  the  apostles  witness  it.  The  martyrs 
to  God  confirm  it.  Let  the  holy  ordinances  of 
baptism  be  conferred  upon  all  by  one  havmg 
authority  by  direct  descent  through  the  laying-on 
of  hands  and  the  apostolic  succession;  let  each 
one  pay  for  his  pew,  and  rest  securely  in  the 
bosom  of  the  only  apostolic  church,  until  he  is 
gloriously  transported  with  all  the  serene,  clean 
and  good  churchmen,  to  the  triumphant  church 
of  the  divine  Henry  VI H." 

Then  Elder  Waterdip  began  in  soft  mellow 
tones : — 

"Dear  beloved,  my  text  for  to-day  will  be  the 
consoling  passage  'For  whom  he  did  foreknow 
he  also  did  predestine,  etc'  From  which  we 
learn:  i.  That  but  few  are  saved.  2.  That  if 
called  we  are  bound  to  come.  3.  That  those  who 
don't  come  prove  within  themselves  that  they 
were  never  called.  4.  If  your  calling  is  effect- 
ual, it  is  impossible  for  you  to  lose  it.  5.  If  you 
lose  it,  you  never  possessed  it.  Incidentally,  we 
learn  that  none  but  immersed  believers  should 


480  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

take  the  holy  communion  of  God  with  us.  That, 
perad venture,  others  may  be  saved,  we  have  no 
assurance  of  it.  That  the  only  certainty  of  salva- 
tion is  to  come  with  us  and  be  baptized  by  immer- 
sion. ' ' 

At  this  point  Rev.  John  Wesley  Jones  spoke 
with  great  ecstacy: — 

"My  perishing  fellow  sinners,  fain  would  I 
improve  the  time  this  morning,  by  a  short  dis- 
course on  that  beautiful  text,  'Depart  from  me, 
ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels. '  O  my  poor  lost  sinners, 
you're  on  the  way  to  hell — an  endless  hell. 
Even  before  the  setting  of  the  sun,  there  may  be 
some  of  you  in  this  congregation  writhing  in  the 
lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  there  to  remain  dur- 
ing the  ages  of  eternity."  (Here  the  female 
actors  in  this  sacreligious  farce  shrieked  and  fell 
to  the  floor.  Lola  was  filled  with  disgust,  and 
felt  that  their  representations  were  false.)  "Oh, 
come  to  the  Saviour  now,  ah.  Tear  off  your 
jewelry  and  kneel  at  the  mourner's  bench,  ah. 
Sing,  brethren,  sing,  ah,  some  good  old  hymn, 
ah." 

While  finishing,  the  player  gesticulated  wildly. 
Clapping  his  hands  and  walking  back  and  forth; 
then  the  attendance  sang:  "Plunged  in  the  Gulf 
of  Dark  Despair."  The  song  was  sung  in  a 
squeaky,  nasal  tone  of  voice,  during  which  several 
of  the  actors  shouted  and  raved  like  maniacs. 
Lpla   hid  her  face  to  shut  out  the  vieWof  .the 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  481 

ridiculous  performance.  When  quiet  again, 
Father  Gregory  marched  stately  to  the  front, 
dressed  in  a  long  black  robe,  bearing  a  crucifix 
in  his  right  hand;  saying  in  a  deep  orotund  voice: 

'*0  mater  sancti*ima,  Ora  pronobis!" 

Then  was  heard  soft  music,  as  the  lights  were 
turned  low.  "O  beatissima,  Coeli  Regina! 
Grant  us  intercession  with  thy  dear  Son.  Make 
thy  children  faithful  and  holy.  Guard  them  from 
heresy  and  from  false  doctrines,  also  from  the 
snares  of  the  insidious.  Keep  them  and  guard 
them  in  the  true  faith,  and  make  them  true  to 
each  holy  vow.  Gloria  Patria  ac  Filio  ac  Sancto 
Spiritu — et  in  saecula  saeculorum.  " 

As  soon  as  he  had  finished  Satan  entered,  danc- 
ing around  the  room  as  he  said : — 

**Ha!  ha!  ha!  Thou  art  exquisite  and  please 
me  beyond  expression.  Go  it — ^go  it.  One 
preaches  immersion,  another  sprinkling,  one 
predestination,  another  free  will,  and  so  thou 
goest.  The  world  will  never  be  converted  by 
thee.  My  kingdom  reigns  supreme.  Go  it — go 
it.  Ha!  ha!  ha!"  Then  came  a  loud  crash  and 
the  curtains  fell.  A  glaring  blaze  of  light  was 
thrown  upon  the  scene  as  Peter,  James  and  John 
entered  the  room.  Then  Satan  turned  to  them 
and  said : — 

"What  have  I  to  do  with  thee?  Well  do  I 
know  that  thou  hast  the  holy  priesthood." 

The  three  representative  apostles  then  said  to 
Satan  in  concert: — 


482  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Holy 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and  by  the  power  of  their 
holy  priesthood,  we  command  thee  to  depart. ' ' 

At  this  command  Satan  fell  to  the  floor,  like 
one  in  a  fit,  then  wriggled  out  of  the  room, 
chased  and  kicked  by  the  representative  of  the 
Apostle  Peter.  Lola  and  Lehman  were  then 
seated  in  front  of  the  altar,  with  the  representa- 
tives of  Adam  and  Eve  seated  on  either  side  of 
them,  when  they  were  addressed  by  the  Apostle 
Peter  as  follows : — 

"My  brother  and  sister,  light  is  now  come  into 
the  world,  and  the  way  is  now  open  unto  man ; 
Satan  hath   much  desire  to  sift  thee   as  wheat, 
and  great  shall  be  the  condemnation  of  those  who , 
reject  the  light." 

Here  he  rehearsed  everything  which  had  taken 
place  during  the  entire  ceremony  up  to  this  point 
and  explained  the  reasons  therefor ;  then  closed 
as  follows : — 

"The  holy  priesthood  is  once  again  established 
on  earth  in  the  personage  of  Joseph  Smith  and 
his  successors.  The  power  of  sealing  is  given 
only  to  them.  Unto  this  priesthood,  as  unto 
Christ,  all  honor,  praise  and  adoration  is  due.  It 
is  thy  duty  to  have  implicit  confidence  in,  and 
yield  in  obedience  without  a  murmur,  in  all 
things.  He  who  gave  life  has  the  right  to  take 
it,  and  his  representative,  the  holy  priesthood, 
is  endowed  with  the  same  right.  You  are  there- 
fore  charged,  that   it   is  your  duty,  to  obey  all 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  483 

orders  of  the  priesthood,  both  temporal  and  spirit- 
ual, in  matters  of  life  or  death.  Be  thou  as  a 
tallowed  rag  in  the  hands  of  God's  priesthood. 
Thou  art  now  read^  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Look  forth  upon  the  void  and  tell  me  what  thou 
dost  behold.  * ' 

Instantly  a  curtain  was  raised,  when  Adam  and 
Eve  exclaimed  in  unison : — 

''A  human  skeleton." 

Then  the  apostle  continued :  — 

'*Thou  hast  spoken  truly.  Behold  all  that 
remains  of  one  who  was  unfaithful  to  these  vows. 
The  earth  holds  no  habitation  for  one  so  vile. 
The  vultures  of  the  air  fed  upon  his  accursed 
flesh,  and  the  ravage  of  the  elements  consumed 
the  tissues  of  the  joints.  This  is  the  inevitable 
doom  of  all  who  are  unfaithful. ' ' 

Here  Lehman  took  Lola's  hand  and  forced  her 
to  again  kneel  at  the  altar,  and  repeated  a  solemn 
oath  after  Peter,  binding  himself  under  a  penalty 
of  death,  with  many  horrifying  details.  Lola 
spoke  not  a  word,  yet  the  bishop  took  it  for  her 
as  was  previously  understood,  if  she  should 
refuse.  This  concluded  the  second  degree  of  the 
Aaronic  priesthood,  and  they  passed  into  the 
third  room. 

This  was  termed  the  third  estate,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  emblematical  of  celestialized  man- 
kind. The  candidates  were  placed  upon  a  large 
altar.  The  bishop  being  the  first,  when  Michael 
said,  as  he  held  a  long,  keen-edged  knife  above 
his  head : — 


484  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

**Here  all  hearts  are  laid  open,  all  desires 
revealed,  and  all  traitors  and  hypocrites  made 
known.  In  the  council  of  the  gods,  it  hath  been 
decreed  that  here  the  faithless  shall  yield  up 
their  life.  Some  may  enter  here  with  evil 
intent ;  but  never  to  go  beyond  this  veil  or  return 
alive,  if  they  practice  deceit.  If  either  of  you 
know  aught  of  treachery  in  thy  heart,  we  charge 
you  now  to  speak,  while  it  is  yet  time  to  live. 
My  brother,  an  ordeal  awaits  thee.  Let  the  pure 
have  no  fear ;  but  the  false  hearted  may  well 
quake,  for  each  shall  pass  under  the  searching 
hand  of  the  spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  He  shall 
decide  for  his  own. '  * 

The  knife  was  then  passed  across  the  bishop's 
throat.  It  is  understood  that,  if  there  is  any 
false  at  heart,  the  spirit  will  reveal  it  to  their 
instant  death.  Lola  thought  the  time  had  come 
for  her  deliverance.  She  knew  the  bishop  to  be 
as  false  at  heart  as  it  was  possible  for  man  to  be. 
She  turned  her  head  away,  for  she  fully  expected 
his  head  to  be  severed  from  his  body ;  but,  to  her 
utter  astonishment,  he  passed  the  ordeal  un- 
harmed; then,  she  was  laid  upon  the  altar  and 
the  same  performance  gone  through  with.  While 
on  the  altar  she  prayed  that  she  might  be  relieved 
then  and  there  by  the  hand  of  him  who  held  the 
knife.  After  the  same  ceremony  was  gone 
through  with  as  was  the  case  with  the  bishop,  she 
was  taken  from  the  altar  unharmed. 

The  bishop  again  seized  her  hand  and  forced 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  485 

her  to  kneel  at  the  altar  again,  while  he  repeated 
another  blinding  oath  after  Jehovah  for  them.  The 
violation  of  this  oat]j  was  to  be  the  most  horrible 
of  any.  The  signs,  grips  and  words  were  given. 
This  constituted  the  first  degree  of  the  Melchis- 
edek  priesthood,  or  the  third  degree  of  the  en- 
dowment. 

The  Book  of  Mormon,  and  doctrine  and  cov- 
enants were  placed  upon  the  altar,  and  another 
lecture  was  delivered  to  the  candidates,  after 
which  Michael  said:  — 

"Thou  art  each  in  a  saved  condition,  and  I 
charge  thee  to  go  hence  in  the  blissful  way  of 
salvation.  But  temporal  duties  demand  thy  first 
care  and  earnest  consideration.  Chief  among 
them  being  a  positive,  immediate  and  everlasting 
duty  to  avenge  the  death  of  the  prophet  and 
Martyr  Joseph  Smith,  upon  'this  vile  and  con- 
temptible nation.'  The  Holy  Prophet  Joseph 
was  persecuted  and  driven  from  place  to  place 
and  finally  murdered  by  a  band  of  barbarians  in 
the  vile  state  of  Illinois,  and  the  people  of  God 
were  compelled  to  flee  across  the  plains  and  seek 
shelter  in  these  mountains.  Verily,  it  hath  been 
spoken  that  this  infamous  nation  shall  crumble 
and  decay  at  no  distant  day. " 

Here  another  oath  was  administered,  which 
Lehman  took  and  was  accepted  for  both,  Lola 
remaining  mute  through  all,  as  in  the  other 
vows.  This  oath  was  to  the  effect  that  they 
were  to  bear  everlasting  enmity  toward  the  gov- 


\ 

486  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ernment  of  the  United  States  for  the  murder  of 
the  holy  prophet  and  his  brother  Hyrum,  and 
also  to  renounce  all  allegiance  they  may  ever 
have  held  to  the  government,  and  hold  them- 
selves absolved  from  all  oaths  of  fealty,  either 
past  or  future;  and  that  they  should  do  all  in 
their  ppwer  to  overthrow  the  government  and 
teach  their  children  the  same.  Then  another 
oath  of  fidelity  and  secrecy  was  administered  and 
the  penalty  for  a  violation  of  these  oaths  was, 
that  the  betrayer  should  die  a  death  of  the  most 
inhuman  torture.  They  were  here  taught  how 
to  pray  in  an  unknown  tongue,  which  constituted 
the  second  degree  of  the  Melchizedek  priesthood. 

They  then  passed  into  the  fourth  estate,  or 
behind  the  veil,  which  was  a  white  linen  curtain, 
into  the  last  room,  which  is  termed  the  "King- 
dom of  the  Gods."  The  bishop  entered  first, 
and  the  officiating  priest  cut  certain  marks  in  his 
garments ;  then  he  introduced  Lola  to  the  room, 
which  closed  this  part  of  the  ceremony.  This  is 
the  room  in  which  Lola  had  been  sealed  to 
Adrian,  and  where  this  ceremony  usually  takes 
place  when  they  have  not  been  previously  sealed. 

They  retired,  resumed  their  regular  dress  and 
all  ate  lunch  except  Lola,  she  being  unable  to  eat 
owing  to  her  physical  condition  and  great  disap- 
pointment. Every  gleam  of  hope  had  disap- 
peared. She  was  pale  and  nervous,  could 
scarcely  stand  without  assistance,  yet,  she  said 
to  herself: — 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  487 

**I  have  not  bound  myself  with  a  promise  as 
yet ;  perhaps  deliverance  will  come.  Oh,  how  my 
soul  yearns  to  be  free,  now  that  I  am  sealed  to 
Adrian!" 

The  silent  tears  stole  down  her  pale  cheeks  as 
she  looked  out  of  a  window  across  the  valley 
toward  Cedar  City.  Then  the  announcement 
cam.e  that  they  were  ready  for  the  lecture.  They 
then  repaired  to  the  lecture  room.  The  address 
was  lengthy,  fully  explaining  the  allegory  they 
had  just  passed  through,  and  their  future  duties 
consequent  on  the  vows  they  had  taken.  Lola 
arose  to  her  feet,  supporting  herself  by  a  chair, 
saying : — 

* '  Thus  far  I  have  taken  no  vows  with  reference 
to  this  man.  All  that  has  taken  place  with  refer- 
ence to  myself,  except  being  sealed  to  Adrian, 
has  been  thrust  upon  me,  and  when  you  try  to 
convert  it  all  into  a  vow,  I  am  determined  to 
enter  my  objections  at  all  hazards." 

Then  the  lecturer  said: — 

"Do  as  thy  mind  dictates,  so  long  as  thy  hus- 
band does  not  object ;  but  mark  it  well,  if  he  so 
request,  a  prayer  circle  will  deal  with  thy  case. " 

*'I  have  no  husband  on  earth,  and  when  I  go 
to  him  to  whom  I  am  sealed,  there  will  be  no 
prayer  circles." 

"Enough.  This  ends  the  complete  work,  and 
if  thou  art  unfaithful  to  these  ceremonies,  we 
will  know  how  to  deal  with  thee.  * ' 

The   whole   day,    from    eight   o'clock   in   the 


488  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

morning  until  six  in  the  evening,  had  been  con- 
sumed in  the  ceremonies  and  the  lectures.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Allison  rejoined  them  as  they  passed 
through  the  front  office.  They  had  remained 
here  during  the  day  as  they  could  not  stand  to 
witness  the  ordeal  of  Lola's  going  through  the 
temple  with  Lehman. 

As  they  passed  down  the  great  stone  steps  Lola 
was  leaning  on  her  father's  arm  and  clinging  to 
him.  Lehman  was  attempting  to  hold  her  by 
the  other  arm,  as  she  could  not  walk.  When  they 
reached  the  lower  step,  she  sank  down  as  she 
said : — 

*' Lehman,  do  not  touch  me!  O  Father  in 
heaven,  my  heart  is  breaking — why,  Oh,  why, 
can  I  not  be  relieved  from  the  clutches  of  this 
hateful  man!" 

Her  head  went  back  and  the  limp  form  of  the 
poor  girl  lay  on  the  step  as  though  she  were 
dead.  Lehman  started  to  take  hold  of  her 
roughly  when  the  attention  of  the  crowd  on  the 
steps  was  attracted  toward  a  man  riding  a  horse 
at  full  speed  toward  them. 

I 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

As  Jed  lay  on  the  old  stone  wall  of  Cedar  City 
prison  listening  to  the  conversation  between 
Lehman  and  Lola,  his  wrath  almost  subverted 
his  judgment.  When  Lola  had  related  all  her 
sufferings,  coupled  with  the  view  of  her  tattered 
garments  and  pale  face,  as  she  knelt  pleading  to 
the  inhuman  bishop  for  her  honor,  his  manly 
heart  ached  with  pity,  and  ere  he  had  heard  the 
full  conversation  the  blood  flowed  from  the 
wounds  in  the  palms  of  his  hands,  where  the  nails 
had  pierced  the  flesh,  in  desperately  clinching  his 
fists.  Never  had  he  violated  an  instruction  of 
an  employer  on  any  matter ;  but  this  was  a  time 
when,  if  he  could  have  seen  clear  sailing,  he 
would  have  attempted  the  rescue  of  the  maid 
alone;  but,  fearing  that  such  an  attempt  might 
involve  her  life,  as  well  as  his  own  before  he 
could  land  her  safely  with  friends,  he  said  to  him- 
self: ** There  is  plenty  of  time  for  us  to  rescue 
her,  therefore,  I  will  not  take  the  risk  alone." 

As  the  sun  arose  the  next  morning,  he  was 
sixty  miles  away  from  the  old  prison,  making  his 
way  back  to  Zion  to  report  to  Vernon  Stanton  his 
discovery.  His  thoughts  were:  "I  will  raise  a 
company  and  go  to  the  rescue  of  the  girl  at 
once." 

He  stopped  at  a  farm  house  for  breakfast. 
After  breakfast  he  bought  a  fine  riding  horse 
489 


490  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

from  the  farmer,  as  his  was  very  much  fatigued, 
and  hired  the  farmer  to  keep  his  until  his  return, 
or  until  he  should  send  for  it.  He  then  rode 
hard  until  noon,  reaching  Filmore  about  this 
hour.  Here  he  stopped  to  rest  and  refresh  him- 
self until  night,  and  also  to  give  his  horse  time 
to  rest.  He  left  Filmore  at  eight  in  the  evening, 
reaching  Juab  in  time  the  next  morning  to  take 
the  seven  o'clock  train  for  Zion.  He  arrived  at 
Mr.  Stanton's  office  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock. 

Mr.  Stanton  had  a  great  deal  of  work  laid  out 
for  the  day;  but  on  the  announcement  of  Jed's 
return  it  was  dispensed  with  in  a  few  moments 
and  he  gave  audience  to  Jed.  Jed  first  told 
Mr.  Stanton  that  Lola  had  been  located.  Then 
going  into  the  details  of  his  whole  trip,  he 
explained  all,  winding  up  with  her  condition  and 
what  she  said  when  he  saw  her  at  the  old  prison, 
when  he  lay  on  the  top  of  the  wall. 

During  the  rehearsal  of  these  facts  he  was  so 
excited  that  he  trembled  in  every  limb.  There 
were  tears  standing  in  Vernon  Stanton's  eyes  as 
he  listened  to  the  sad  story.  Jed  finished  by 
saying : — 

"Never,  no  never,  in  all  my  life  did  I  want  to 
violate  a  promise  or  disobey  instructions  given 
me  by  my  superiors,  until  then.  But,  sir,  I  there 
felt  it  to  be  almost  a  solemn  duty  to  set  aside 
your  instructions,  and  fly  to  the  rescue  of  the 
poor  girl  at  once.  The  only  thing  that  deterred 
me  from  this,  was  reflecting  over  the  fact  that 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  49I 

she  was  already  weak  and  ill,  and,  therefore, 
would  require  rest  and  retard  our  flight  of  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  through  an  absolutely  unsafe 
country.  This  fact  alone  gave  me  pause  and, 
after  carefully  surveying  the  field  and  desiring 
her  complete  and  safe  rescue  above  all  things 
else,  I  decided  to  return  to  you  and  receive  further 
orders  and  assistance.  My  good  friend  Stanton, 
as  I  prize  my  life,  I  prize  the  liberty  of  this 
much-wronged  maid.  Seeking  her  whereabouts 
as  I  have,  and  seeing  what  I  have  seen,  have 
thoroughly  enlisted  my  whole  soul  in  her  behalf. 
My  life  will  be  single  to  one  purpose,  until  I 
have  accomplished  her  freedom.  All  I  ask  is 
that  a  small  company  of  trusty  men  be  fitted  out 
and  placed  in  my  charge,  and,  ere  fifteen  days 
roll  around,  I  will  rescue  her  from  this  fiend." 

**Jed,  your  work  has  been  very  praiseworthy. 
I  am  exceedingly  thankful  that  you  did  not 
attempt  to  take  the  risk  alone,  although  I  grant 
that  it  was  hard,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
refrain  from  doing  so.  But  she  shall  be  released 
from  this  villain.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say 
the  time  for  the  sealing  and  forced  endowment 
is  set  for  the  20th  day  of  May?" 

'*Thatis  the  time." 

** Thank  God  for  that.  Adrian  can  reach  here 
in  time  to  help  in  the  work. ' ' 

Jed  jumped  to  his  feet,  his  eyes  shone  like 
diamonds,  as  he  looked  Mr.  Stanton  in  the  eyes 
and  said  in  utter  amazement: — 


49^?  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

"Adrian!  In  the  name  of  heaven!  What  do 
you  mean,  man?" 

"Pardon  me,  Jed,  my  interest  in  your  story 
was  so  great  that  I  neglected  telling  you,  that 
Adrian  is  alive. ' ' 

"Why,  Stanton!  You  paralyze  me!  Have 
you  proof  of  this  fact?" 

"I  received  a  letter  from  him  yesterday.  Here 
it  is,  will  you  read  it?" 

Jed  took  the  letter  and  read  as  follows : — 

"Liverpool,  England,  April  i,  1877. 
Vernon  Stanton,  Esq., 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

My  dear  friend: — You  will  pardon  my  long 
silence,  owing  to  the  fact  that  I  have  not  written 
letters  to  any  one  except  my  parents.  They 
alwaj^s  speak  of  you  in  their  letters  to  me,  and  I 
tell  them  what  to  say  to  you  for  me.  I  heard 
from  them  last  week.  They  say  everything  is 
moving  along  as  well  as  could  be  expected  at  the 
Garden  City  and  that  they  are  doing  well.  They 
urge  me  to  take  a  four  months'  trip  through 
Europe,  at  the  expiration  of  my  employment  here, 
which  will  end  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  this  month. 
I  expect  to  do  so,  and  will  leave  here  on  the  first 
day  of  May  for  Paris,  thence  to  Rome,  via  Cor- 
sica, Genoa,  and  other  points  of  interest.  I 
expect  to  make  a  general  tour  of  continental 
Europe. 

The  Garden  City  has  little  charm  for  me  since 
receiving  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  my  darling 
Lola.  If  it  were  not  for  my  parents  residing 
there,  I  should  never  return  to  that  sad  city 
again,  except  to  visit  her  grave.  The  first  letter 
I  received  from  home  brought  this  sad  and  heart- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  493 

rending  news.  (9  my  good  friend  Stanton! 
You  cannot  imagine  the  sorrow  that  this  message 
brought  me.  For  a  time  I  felt  that  it  would  kill 
me.  For  days,  weeks  and  months,  I  refused  to 
be  comforted  and  was  of  no  earthly  value  to  the 
mission;  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  for  some 
unaccountable  reason,  they  urged  me  to  stay,  at 
the  same  time,  to  my  great  sorrow  and  surprise, 
my  parents  insisted  upon  my  staying  with  the 
work,  stating  that  it  was  the  very  best  thing  that 
I  could  do  under  all  the  circumstances.  I  desired 
to  return  at  once  and  be  sealed  to  Lola  for  eter- 
nity; but  my  parents  urged  me  so  hard  to  stay, 
adding  that  the  scenes  of  my  old  home  without 
her  would  only  increase  my  sorrow,  and  I  finally 
concluded  to  stay.  I  hope  you  are  well  and 
happy.  May  I  ask  how  our  mining  prospects 
look?  I  hope,  and  believe  that  we  can  make  a 
paying  property  of  this  at  some  future  date,  but, 
if  it  should  prove  a  failure  my  money  has  been 
spent  freely  on  my  judgment  and  will  not  be 
regretted.  It  may  seem  that  I  have  been  care- 
less in  this  matter,  but  I  have  trusted  absolutely 
to  you  in  this  matter,  knowing  that  everything 
would  be  right,  and  if  anything  new  should 
develop  that  my  parents  would  notify  me. 

I  wish  you  were  here  to  make  this  trip  through 
Europe  with  me,  as  I  know  it  would  add  greatly 
to  the  pleasure.  If  nothing  prevents,  I  will  see 
you  about  the  middle  of  October.  Should  you 
feel  like  writing  to  me  address  me  at  Rome,  gen- 
eral delivery,  where  I  will  arrive  one  month  after 
leaving  here.  I  hope  you  will  see  my  parents 
soon  and  remember  me  kindly  to  them. 
Yours  very  truly, 

Adrian  Waltham.  " 

After  reading  this  letter  Jed  sat  for  a  time  in 


494  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

perfect  wonder.  The  whole  matter  was  an 
enigma  to  him.  Mr.  Stanton  studied  very  hard 
to  unravel  the  mystery;  he  was  going  to  write  to 
Adrian  that  evening  but  Jed's  return  changed  his 
plan.  Suddenly  Jed  brightened,  his  eyes  shone 
like  fire,  as  he  exclaimed : — 

**OmyGod!     The  horrible  monster!" 

**Whom  do  you  refer  to,  Jed?"  inquired  Mr. 
Stanton. 

"Can't  you  see  through  all  of  this,  Mr.  Stan- 
ton?" 

'*No,  Jed,  I  cannot.  His  parents  are  not  in 
the  Garden  City;  neither  have  they  ever  writ- 
ten him  a  letter,  as  the  first  word  received  by 
them,  as  you  know,  after  he  embarked,  was  that 
he  was  dead — died  at  sea.  What  does  it  all 
mean?     Can  you  explain?" 

*'I  believe  I  can.  Bishop  Lehman  is  at  the 
bottom  of  the  whole  affair.  He  has  intercepted 
Adrian's  letters  to  his  parents,  and  answered 
them  or  had  it  done  in  their  name,  and  the  whole 
Mormon  push,  here  and  at  the  foreign  headquar- 
ters, are  into  the  scheme.  His  parents  have  not 
been  in  the  Garden  City  for  nearly  four  years, 
and  I  do  not  know  where  they  are.  If  Adrian 
knew  all  this  and  the  situation  of  Lola,  nothing 
could  induce  him  to  take  this  contemplated  trip." 

*'We  will  notify  him  at  once.  He  will  finish 
his  work  to-day,  and  I  must  get  the  word  to  him 
by  to-morrow,  as  he  might  start  early  for  Paris 
the  next  day.     I  will  cable  him  fully  as  to  condi- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  495 

tions.  It  is  now  tfiree  o'clock,  we  will  have  to 
take  late  lunch.  I  did  not  know  it  was  so  late. 
In  order  to  be  to  ourselves  I  will  have  lunch 
served  in  my  private  rooms.  While  there  we  will 
discuss  just  what  I  shall  cable  him.  I  am  glad 
that  the  operators  at  the  telegraph  offices  are 
Gentiles,  otherwise  I  would  be  compelled  to  run 
over  to  Evanston  in  order  to  send  the  message, 
as  a  Mormon  operator  would  put  Lehman  and  the 
leaders  on  to  our  movements." 

They  then  repaired  to  Mr.  Stanton's  rooms, 
ordered  the  lunch  and  discussed  what  the  mes- 
sage should  contain.  After  lunch  was  over  they 
formulated  the  following  cablegram  and  sent  it 
to  Adrian : — 

"Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  April  29,  1877. 
Adrian  Waltham, 

At  Headquarters  of  Foreign  Mission  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints, 
Liverpool,  England. 
Lola  is  living.  Your  parents  have  never 
written  you  a  letter.  The  head  of  the  mission 
reported  that  you  had  died  at  sea.  Your  parents 
have  been  wrecked,  financially,  by  the  church, 
as  well  as  Mr.  Allison.  Lehman  has  had  Lola 
imprisoned,  or  guarded,  for  four  years,  in  order 
to  force  her  to  become  his  plural.  Jed  has  just 
discovered  the  place  of  her  imprisonment.  She 
is  as  true  as  steel  to  you.  Come  at  once  to  join 
us  in  her  rescue,  which  must  be  accomplished  by 
the  20th  of  May.  I  will  have  everything  pre- 
pared when  you  get  here.  You  have  plenty  of 
money  in  my  hands.     Yours, 

Vernon  Stanton.  " 


496  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

He  gave  strict  instructions  that  this  message 
should  be  delivered  to  none  but  the  addressed, 
and  that  it  be  delivered  to  him  at  once,  no  matter 
what  the  cost. 

The  messenger  into  whose  hands  it  fell  knew 
Adrian  personally  and  also  knew  where  his  place 
of  lodging  was.  Consequently,  at  eight  o'clock 
the  next  morning  a  rap  came  at  his  door,  just  as 
he  was  ready  for  breakfast.  He  opened  the  door 
when  the  messenger  boy  gave  him  the  cablegram, 
saying : — 

*'I  was  given  strict  instructions  to  deliver  this 
to  none  but  you,  and  not  to  let  the  people  at  the 
place  you  work  know  anything  about  it.  So  I 
brought  it  to  your  room." 

**I  thank  you  very  much,  Harold,  for  your 
trouble, ' '  said  Adrian  as  he  broke  the  seal. 

When  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  contents  he  read 
eagerly,  and  great  drops  of  perspiration  stood  on 
his  forehead  and  he  trembled  like  a  leaf. 

**Great  heavens!  What  does  this  mean?  Lola 
alive  and  incarcerated  by  Lehman!  Would  that 
I  had  him  on  a  rack  I  would  tear  him  limb  from 
limb!"  he  exclaimed;  then  turning  to  the  mes- 
senger he  said : — 

** Please  give  me  a  blank." 

He  wrote  hastily: — 

"Liverpool,  England,  April  30,  1877. 
Vernon  Stanton,  Esq., 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

I  will  take  the  first  steamer  bound  for  New 
York.     Leave  not  a  stone  unturned  in  the  prepa- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  497 

ration  for  the  rescue.  Lola  shall  be  saved  with 
Lehman  behind  the  bars.  I  will  telegraph  you 
from  New  York.     Yours, 

Adrian  Waltham.  " 

Mr.  Stanton  received  this  telegram  the  next 
morning  and  at  once  began  the  preparations  for 
the  rescue. 

**Jed,"  said  he,  **if  Adrian  makes  good  time  he 
can  arrive  here  in  seventeen  days.  He  will 
more  than  likely  embark  this  morning.  If  so  he 
will  reach  here  by  the  seventeenth  of  this  month ; 
then  can  we  take  the  train  for  Juab  the  morning 
of  the  eighteenth,  thence  overland  to  St.  George 
and  reach  that  place  by  eight  o'clock  the  morning 
of  the  2oth?" 

**It  is  a  hard  trip,  but  can,  and  must  be  made. 
We  will  be  compelled  to  change  horses  many 
times  and  travel  early  and  late.  We  cannot  rest 
more  than  five  hours  each  day,"  answered  Jed. 

"Now  that  is  settled.  How  many  changes  of 
horses  will  we  need?" 

**We  start  from  Juab  with  a  fresh  outfit.  Then 
we  will  require  relays  every  twenty-five  to  thirty- 
five  miles.  The  first  at  Scipio,  then  Filmore, 
Cove  Creek,  Beaver,  Parowan  and  the  last  at 
Kannarrahville.  With  this  last  relay  we  will 
reach  St.  George.  This  makes  seven  sets  of 
horses  which  we  will  be  compelled  to  have.  The 
next  question  is,  how  many  horses  do  we  want  at 
each  place?** 

"Let  me  make  a  calculation.     We  will  need 

82 


498  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

three  carriages  and  a  supply  wagon,  with  drivers. 
One  for  Adrian  to  bring  back  his  company.  One 
for  myself,  so  that  I  can  bring  the  Allisons  to 
Zion,  should  they  want  to  come.  One  for  the 
United  States  marshals.  They  will  bring  Leh- 
man with  them  under  arrest  for  polygamy.  For 
these  vehicles  we  will  require  four  teams,  or 
eight  horses  at  each  place.  We  will  have  six 
deputy  United  States  marshals  mounted,  beside 
yourself;  making  in  all  fifteen  horses  at  each 
place.  In  order  not  to  lose  a  moment's  time,  you 
had  better  have  harness  in  readiness  at  each 
place.  Each  man  in  the  company,  including  the 
drivers,  must  be  heavily  armed.  You  will  there- 
fore prepare  and  station  fifteen  horses  and  equip- 
ments, with  two  trusty  men,  at  each  place  men- 
tioned, with  instructions  for  them  to  have  them 
ready  for  use  at  a  moment's  warning,  from  the 
morning  of  the  i8th  until  called  for.  Let  no 
one  know  what  you  are  preparing  for.  Can  you 
arrange  all  and  join  us  at  Juab  on  the  morning  of 
the  i8th?" 

'*I  can  and  will." 

"Here  is  a  purse  to  pay  for  everything  you  will 
require. '  * 

Jed  first  secured  his  trusty  men  to  leave  at  each 
station,  then  the  horses  and  equipments;  and, 
by  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth  everything  was 
in  perfect  readiness. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

"To  him  that  o'ercometh 

God  giveth  a  crown, 
Through  faith  we  shall  conquer, 

Though  often  cast  down; 
He  who  is  our  Saviour, 

Our  strength  will  renew. 
Look  ever  to  Jesus, 

He  will  carry  you  through." 

—Sacred  Songs. 

On  receiving  the  cablegram,  Adrian  abruptly 
changed  his  plans  from  the  European  tour  to 
preparations  for  the  voyage  homeward.  He  was 
so  indignant  at  the  church  leaders  for  the  outra- 
geous treatment  that  he  had  received  at  their 
hands,  at  home,  as  well  as  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  foreign  mission,  that  he  would  not  go 
back  to  the  headquarters  to  inform  them  of  this 
change  of  program ;  beside,  the  ill  treatment  of 
Lola  enraged  him  to  the  point  of  doing  vio- 
lence to  any  who  had  in  any  way  participated  in 
the  dastardly  outrage.  He  feared  that  if  any- 
thing was  said  that  would  tend  to  add  to  his 
wrath  he  might  do  something  in  the  heat  of  pas- 
sion which  would  detain  him,  and  this  he  could 
not  afford  under  any  circumstances.  He  em- 
barked for  New  York  at  eight  o'clock  the  next 
morning. 

It  had  been  fully  arranged  by  the  church  digni- 
taries to  have  three  or  four  of  the  missionaries 
return  on  the  same  vessel  in  which  he  should  take 

499 


500  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

passage,  in  October ;  and  they  were  to  see  to  it 
that  he  was  lost  on  the  way.  He  knew  they  were 
to  accompany  him,  but  had  no  thought  of  any 
such  dark  designs  against  his  life.  His  change 
of  mind,  however,  on  receiving  the  cablegram, 
completely  thwarted  this  base  scheme  of  the 
anointed,  for  he  sailed  for  home  without  a  Saint 
on  board  the  vessel. 

The  next  afternoon,  after  boarding  the  ship, 
he  stood  on  the  deck  watching  the  mighty  vessel 
plough  the  fathomless  deep  as  he  sorrowfully  and 
longingly  looked  toward  the  western  sky,  wish- 
ing it  were  in  his  power  to  increase  the  speed  of 
the  great  ship  toward  the  desired  haven.  So 
deeply  was  he  engaged  in  meditation  that  he 
took  no  notice  of  things  that  transpired  around 
him.  His  heart  was  heavy,  an  occasional  tear 
drop  glistened  in  his  eye,  and  so  deep  was 
his  melancholy  that  he  attracted  the  attention  of 
many  who  were  on  deck.  A  beautiful  lady,  in 
company  of  friends,  sat  near  him.  She  and  her 
friends  had  been  joyfully  talking  and  laughing, 
occasionally  turning  her  glances  to  him.  Pres- 
ently he  turned  his  head  sufficiently  for  her  to 
see  his  face,  when  she  arose  and  addressing  him 
said : — 

"As  I  am  alive — it  is  Adrian  Waltham.  *' 

It  was  a  familiar  voice,  and  looking  up  he  saw 
Margaret  Baird.  She  was  faultlessly  dressed 
and  the  sad  expression  of  former  days  had  flown. 

"If  I  am  not  mistaken,  it  is  Margaret  Baird," 


THEfFALSE    STAR.  50J 

he  said,  as  he  approached  her  with  extended 
hand.     She  grasped  his  hand  saying: — 

"Yes,  with  the  name  of  Salisbury  added.'* 

"You  are  married,  then?" 

**I  am,  and  to  the  best  man  in  the  world,  I  be- 
lieve. Perhaps  you  will  meet  him  as  he  will  join 
us  at  New  York.     I  am  so  glad  to  see  you. ' ' 

Then  stepping  aside  she  introduced  him  to  her 
mother  and  three  lady  friends.  Then  seating 
themselves  apart  from  the  others  they  engaged 
in  the  following  conversation : — 

**You  will  pardon  me,  but  where  are  you 
bound?"  queried  Adrian. 

"We  are  just  taking  a  pleasure  trip  to  Amer- 
ica." 

"And  your  husband  will  join  you  at  New 
York?" 

"Yes." 

"Are  you  going  as  far  west  as  Utah?" 

"Not  by  any  means.  Perhaps  we  will  go  as 
far  west  as  Chicago  or  St.  Louis,  but  not  to 
Utah.     Oh,  no,  I  thank  you!" 

"You  don't  seem  to  like  Utah?" 

"I  have  no  objections  to  the  soil,  climate  or 
physical  surroundings,  but  the  people — Oh,  my ! 
Deliver  me  from  the  people.  But,  by  the  way, 
Adrian,  where  have  you  been?  How  are  your 
parents  and  the  Allisons?  You  and  Lola  are 
married,  of  course?  Tell  me  all  about  yourselves 
and  Mr.  Stanton;  but  don't  mention  any  one 
else,  unless  it  be  Jed. ' ' 


502  the:  false  star. 

At  these  suggestive  questions,  Adrian  relapsed 
into  a  sad  mood  and  said : — 

"Ah!  dear  Margaret,  Lola  and  I  are  yet  un- 
married. When  the  time  came  for  that  happy- 
consummation,  the  priesthood,  through  our  bish- 
op, refused  to  grant  us  a  recommend  to  go 
through  the  endowment.  They  denied  it  to  us, 
except  on  these  terms,  that  I  take  another  at  the 
same  time,  or  take  another  first,  making  Lola 
my  second.  We  positively  refused  to  enter  into 
the  distasteful  relation.  Then  they  attempted 
my  life  three  times,  and  I  was  only  wrested  from 
their  grasp  through  the  cunning  work  of  Jed 
Worthen. " 

"Good  for  Jed!  I  always  knew  he  was  worth 
his  weight  in  gold." 

"If  ever  human  uttered  truth,  you  spoke  it 
then.  But,  as  I  was  going  to  say,  the  dignitaries 
finally  decided  that  I  should  go  on  a  mission, 
after  which  I  could  get  a  recommend  for  Lola 
and  me  to  go  through  the  endowment.  With 
this  distinct  understanding  I  agreed  to  go  on  a 
three  years'  mission.  When  in  the  field  they 
wanted  me  to  preach  differently  from  what  they 
do  at  home,  and,  further,  wished  me  to  represent 
matters  about  the  church  and  the  practice  of  the 
majority  of  the  members  different  from  the  real 
conditions.  I  flatly  refused.  I  could  not  under- 
stand why,  at  the  time,  that  they  were  so  solici- 
tous for  me  to  accept  employment  in  the  office  of 
the  mission  headquarters  at  Liverpool ;  but  they 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  503 

urged  it  on  me  so  strongly  that  I  accepted.  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  shortly  afterward,  from  my  par- 
ents, as  I  supposed,  stating  that  Lola  was  dead. 
I  believe  that  Lehman  wrote  this  letter,  as  well 
as  every  letter  that  I  have  received  from  Utah 
since  leaving  home.  At  the  expiration  of  my 
first  engagement,  the  management  at  the  mission 
headquarters  offered  to  double  my  salary;  then, 
my  parents,  as  I  thought,  urged  me  to  stay  an- 
other term,  stating  that  they  were  treated  so 
much  better  by  the  leaders  since  I  came  to  the 
mission  field,  that  I  concluded  to  stay  more  on 
account  of  them  than  anything  else.  Many  flat- 
tering reports  came  as  to  how  they  were  getting 
along,  all  coming  from  the  same  author,  and  as 
false  as  the  man  who  wrote  them.  It  was  re- 
ported from  the  mission  headquarters  to  Lola, 
my  parents,  and  our  friends,  that  I  was  dead. 
Lola  has  believed  this  to  be  true  ever  since  I  ar- 
rived at  Liverpool ;  all  of  this  time  Lehman  has 
been  trying  to  force  her  into  a  plural  relation 
with  him.  She  has  stoutly  refused,  then  he 
threw  her  into  prison  and  has  kept  her  there  for 
four  years.  I  do  not  thoroughly  comprehend  it, 
but  we  must  rescue  her  by  the  twentieth  of  this 
month.  I  had  contemplated  taking  an  extended 
trip  through  Europe  and  was  making  prepara- 
tions to  start  yesterday;  and  I  thought  I  was 
being  urged  strongly  by  my  parents  to  do  this,  but 
I  happened  to  write  to  our  mutual  friend,  Ver- 
non Stanton,  and  learned  all  yesterday  morning 
through  the  contents  of  this  cablegram." 


504  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Here  he  handed  her  the  cablegram ;  continu- 
ing he  said: — 

*  *  Luckily  for  me  that  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Stanton ; 
by  doing  so  my  eyes  have  been  opened  so  that  I 
can  see  the  whole  situation  clearly.  I  am  hasten- 
ing home  to  assist  in  Lola's  rescue  from  this 
monster  in  human  shape. '  * 

After  carefully  perusing  the  message  Margaret 
said : — 

*'My  kind  friend,  I  am  not  at  all  surprised.  I 
knew  that  villain  coveted  the  girl  before  I  left, 
but  I  hoped  that  I  might  be  mistaken.  These 
things  are  at  par  with  many  of  their  other  das- 
tardly deeds.  The  Mountain  Meadow  crime,  of 
course,  crowns  all  for  infamy.  I  was  but  a  child 
when  I  first  heard  about  it,  and  it  made  my  blood 
run  cold ;  but  I  have  heard  Saints  speak  of  it  and 
say  that  it  was  ordered  through  divine  inspira- 
tion." 

She  then  went  into  details  as  to  what  she  knew 
of  having  taken  place,  giving  him  a  history  of 
other  crimes,  many  of  which  Adrian  had  never 
heard  of.  Much  of  the  time  during  the  voyage 
was  spent  in  this  way.  Adrian  had  now  aposta- 
tized and  was  eager  to  hear  their  history  from 
one  he  knew  to  be  truthful. 

On  the  seventh  day  after  leaving  Liverpool  the 
ship  was  in  a  terrible  storm.  It  seemed  for 
hours  that  all  the  elements  were  turned  loose  to 
lash  the  sea  into  foam  and  heaving  liquid  mount- 
ains.    The  great  vessel  would  mount  the  waves 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  505 

and  seem  lifted  to  the  clouds,  then  sink  between 
the  mighty  walls  of  surging  water.  The  voice  of 
the  captain,  shouting  through  his  trumpet,  was 
heard  above  the  roar,  while  the  sailors  hastened 
to  obey  his  commands.  The  wind  shrieked  and 
howled  through  the  rigging,  the  night  came  on 
to  add  to  the  gloom.  The  sky  grew  black  as  ink 
only  when  the  gleam  of  lightning  pierced  the 
darkness  amid  the  crash  of  the  thunder's  awful 
roar.  The  storm  grew  so  serious  that  the  ship 
was  driven  out  of  her  course.  Near  the  mid- 
night hour  the  wind  began  to  abate,  the  clouds 
passed  away  and  soon  the  sea  grew  more  calm. 
The  great  ship  resumed  its  onward  course  under 
the  cheerful  twinkle  of  the  stars  and  the  pale 
light  of  the  moon. 

All  on  board  were  glad  to  land,  even  twenty- 
four  hours  behind  time;  yet  Adrian  regretted 
very  much  the  delay.  He  sent  Mr.  Stanton  a 
telegram  to  the  effect  that  he  had  landed  and 
would  take  the  first  train  west  to  catch  the  Union 
Pacific  at  Omaha  for  Salt  Lake  City.  He  met 
the  husband  of  Margaret  Baird,  but  had  only  a 
few  moments  with  him.  He  promised  to  visit 
them  should  he  ever  return  to  England  again. 

Three  hours  after  landing  he  was  speeding 
across  the  country  for  Omaha.  He  was  delayed 
twelve  hours  by  bad  connections  and  landed  at 
Salt  Lake  City  on  the  afternoon  of  the  eighteenth 
at  five  o'clock. 

Mr.  Stanton  met  him  at    the   train   and  they 


5o6  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

were  driven  at  once  to  his  place  of  lodging. 
Here  he  explained  to  Adrian  hurriedly  the  con- 
dition of  things  at  this  time.  Jed  had  notified 
him  the  evening  before  that  everything  was  in 
readiness.  He  had  wired  him  twice  during  the 
day  to  know  the  cause  of  the  delay,  but  Mr. 
Stanton  could  give  him  no  satisfaction.  Jed 
wanted  to  go  on  but  Mr.  Stanton  ordered  him  to 
wait  until  eight  in  the  evening  at  which  time  he 
would  notify  him  just  what  to  do.  After 
explaining  all  of  these  conditions,  Mr.  Stanton 
said : — 

"My  dear  friend,  by  all  means,  we  should  have 
left  Juab  at  ten  this  morning.  The  train  does 
not  go  until  six  to-morrow  morning,  arriving 
there  at  nine-thirty.  We  cannot  get  away  from 
there  before  ten,  and  cannot  get  to  St.  George  by 
eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  if  we 
travel  every  hour  of  the  time. ' ' 

"O  heavens!  My  good  friend,  we  must! 
Where  is  the  United  States  marshal?  You  say  he 
has  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Lehman?" 

"Yes,  he  has  a  warrant;  he  said  that  he  and 
his  deputies  would  be  at  his  office  at  this  hour 
and  ready  to  go  at  a  moment's  warning." 

"Mr,  Stanton,  will  you  please  go  at  once  and 
get  him  and  his  men  with  all  equipments  and 
have  them  at  the  depot  by  seven  o'clock.  I  will 
go  and  order  a  special  train ;  we  will  start  at  that 
hour.  I  will  wire  Jed  to  that  effect.  This  un- 
dertaking must  not  fail. " 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  507 

"I  will  do  as  you  say,"  said  Stanton,  as  the 
men  hurried  out  of  the  room. 

Adrian  ordered  the  special  train  and  wired  Jed 
to  be  in  readiness  The  railroad  over  which  they 
were  to  travel  had  been  built  from  Zion  through 
the  Garden  City  and  as  far  as  Juab  during  his 
absence.  At  seven  o'clock  an  engine  with  one 
coach,  bearing  the  rescuing  party,  pulled  oiit 
from  the  station  and  two  hours  later  arrived  at 
Juab.  No  train  has  ever  made  better  time  over 
this  road,  the  time  being  -about  fifty-five  miles 
per  hour. 

Thirty  minutes  later  and  all  was  in  readiness, 
when  they  started  on  the  long  and  tiresome  trip 
to  St.  George.  They  arrived  at  Scipio  three 
hours  and  a  half  later,  where  they  hurriedly 
changed  horses  and  drove  on  to  Filmore,  at 
which  place  they  arrived  at  four-thirty,  on  the 
morning  of  the  19th.  Here  the  party  stopped 
for  a  little  rest  and  to  take  breakfast.  They  took 
rooms  in  a  hotel,  where  they  retired,  and  all  the 
party  except  Adrian  slept  soundly  for  two  hours. 
He  had  slept  but  little  since  receiving  the  cable- 
gram and  under  ordinan'  circumstances  lie  would 
have  been  worn  out  when  he  reached  Salt  Lake 
City  the  evening  before,  but  now  there  was  no 
rest  for  him.  He  walked  restlessly  back  and 
forth,  thinking  only  of  the  rescue  and  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  her  who  was  more  precious  to  him 
than  life  itself.  When  bi^akfast  came  he  ate  the 
first  meal  he  had  eaten  in  twenty- four  hours,  and 
felt  greatly  refreshed. 


5o8  THE    FALSE    blAR. 

At  seven  o'clock  they  resumed  their  journey 
with  a  new  round  of  horses.  Swift  as  the  wind 
did  they  travel  over  the  valleys  and  through  the 
canons,  arriving  at  Cove  Creek  at  noon.  Here 
they  took  lunch  and  changed  horses.  The  driv- 
ers were  so  tired  they  could  not  make  as  good 
time  as  they  had  the  night  before  and  in  the  fore- 
noon. They  arrived  at  Beaver  at  six  in  the 
evening,  where  they  ate  supper  and  resumed 
their  journey  to  Parowan,  a  distance  of  about 
forty-five  miles.  This  being  the  longest  trip 
without  an  opportunity  of  changing  horses,  and 
the  roads  being  in  worse  condition  than  any  they 
had  yet  reached,  necessitated  slower  travel. 
They  arrived  at  Parowan,  however,  at  two 
o'clock  the  next  morning.  In  six  hours  Lola 
was  to  start  through  the  temple  with  Lehman, 
and  eighty-five  miles  of  road  yet  lay  between 
them  and  the  temple.  It  was  the  unanimous 
decision  that  they  could  not  reach  there  in  time 
to  stop  the  ceremony,  so  being  worn  out  they 
decided  to  rest  after  taking  lunch  until  day. 
Adrian  lay  down  with  the  rest,  but  his  slumber 
was  broken;  at  intervals  he  aroused  from  his 
slumber  when  he  imagined  that  he  could  hear 
Lola's  voice  calling  to  him  for  help.  He  was  up 
at  break  of  day  and  urging  all  to  be  in  readiness 
to  resume  the  journey  at  once.  They  ate  an 
early  breakfast  and  started  for  Kanarraville  at 
sunrise.  The  drivers  were  refreshed  from  the 
few   hours    sleep,    and,   with   a  fresh  supply  of 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  509 

Splendid  steeds,  they  drove  at  a  rapid  rate. 
Saints  meeting  them  on  the  road  gazed  at  them 
wonderingly  as  they  swiftly  sped  along;  at 
times,  however,  their  travel  was  impeded  on  ac- 
count of  the  sand.  They  arrived  at  Kanarraville 
at  twelve-thirty,  where  they  took  lunch;  then, 
with  the  last  relay  of  horses,  they  started  for  St. 
George.  The  road  being  rough  for  the  first 
twenty  miles  hindered  their  progress  more  than 
they  had  anticipated.  On  arriving  at  Washing- 
ton, eight  miles  from  St.  George,  one  of  the 
horses  to  the  carriage  in  which  the  United  States 
marshal  rode  became  violently  sick  which  neces- 
sitated a  change.  They  hurriedly  unharnessed 
and  left  the  suffering  animal  in  the  care  of  a 
party  residing  there  and  substituted  a  horse  on 
which  one  of  the  deputies  rode,  he  riding  the  rest 
of  the  way  in  the  carriage  with  the  marshal. 
Owing  to  this  delay  they  feared  they  could  not 
reach  the  temple  by  six  o'clock.  The  time  was 
so  short  that  Adrian  urged  the  mounted  men  for- 
ward. They  dashed  ahead  at  their  utmost  speed. 
Jed  was  now  riding  the  noble  steed  on  which  he 
had  ridden  the  night  he  found  Lola  in  prison ; 
the  faithful  animal  seemed  to  know  that  some- 
thing of  importance  depended  upon  him  and  to 
breathe  with  his  master  the  same  incentive.  On, 
on,  he  rushed  at  his  own  good  will,  up  hill  and 
down,  and  over  every  condition  of  road  as  swiftly 
as  an  eagle  in  its  flight.  On  came  the  deputies 
in  hot  pursuit  and  were  close  to  his  heels  for  a 


5IO  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

short  time,  yet  in  spite  of  whip  or  spur  they 
were  left  behind.  On  he  went  and  on  they  came, 
and  at  six  o'clock,  as  the  crowd  was  coming  out 
of  the  temple,  he  rode  at  his  greatest  speed  a 
mile  ahead  of  the  nearest  deputy,  reining  up  in 
front  of  the  temple  immediately  after  Lola  sank 
to  the  step;  then,  springing  lightly  from  the 
saddle,  he  faced  the  crowd  as  he  drew  his  revol- 
vers and  gave  the  command  to  halt. 

Lehman  turned  his  attention  from  Lola  to  Jed 
and  asked: — 

'*Why  dost  thou  assume  so  much  authority 
over  this  company  of  the  Lord's  people?" 

"I  act  in  the  name  of  humanity.  If  any  one 
move  out  of  his  tracks  except  Mr.  Allison,  his 
wife  and  daughter,  I  will  perforate  that  person 
with  bullets ;  this  order  stands  until  the  officers 
and  my  party  reach  here,"  said  Jed,  pointing 
toward  the  advancing  officers  with  the  carriages 
in  the  rear. 

"Who  are  you  and  who  are  they?"  demanded 
Lehman  excitedly. 

"My  name  is  Jedediah  Worthen  —  advance 
guard  for  Adrian  Waltham  and  company,  who 
are  coming  to  the  rescue  of  this  fair  lady,  and  to 
put  you,  vile  Lehman,  in  prison  as  you  have 
been  keeping  her.  ** 

Mrs.  Allison,  who  had  been  giving  her  atten- 
tion in  company  with  her  husband  to  the  pros- 
trate girl,  now  raised  to  her  feet  and  throwing 
her  hands  up  wildly,  shouted : — 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  51I 

' '  Thank  God !     Thank  God ! " 

*' Adrian  Waltham!  He  is  dead!"  exclaimed 
Lehman. 

"It  is  an  infamous  falsehood  and  you  with 
your  whole  company  know  it.  He  is  alive  and 
coming  in  one  of  the  carriages.  The  United 
States  marshal  is  in  another  with  a  warrant  for 
your  arrest  for  polygamy." 

At  this  moment  two  of  the  deputy  marshals 
arrived  and  immediately  took  Lehman  in  charge. 
As  Jed  made  this  statement  and  the  deputy 
marshals  arrested  Lehman,  the  crowd  of  Saints 
grew  white  with  rage  and  began  murmuring  to 
themselves  about  them  being  persecuted  by  the 
"carpet-bag  officers  of  this  so-called  nation." 

At  this  time  all  the  horsemen  had  arrived,  to- 
gether with  Adrian's  carriage.  Adrian  alighted 
and  seeing  Lola  as  her  father  raised  her  to  her 
feet  rushed  to  her. 

"Hold!  infamous  scoundrel!"  said  Lehman. 
"Lay  not  thy  hand  upon  my  wife!" 

Adrian  was  dazed  at  the  bold  stand  of  Lehman 
couched  in  these  words  and  staggered  back  as  he 
pressed  his  hand  to  his  forehead,  when  the 
United  States  marshal,  who  had  just  arrived  in 
time  to  hear  this  conversation,  asked : — 

"When  did  she  become  your  wife?" 

"She  has  just  gone  through  the  temple  with 
me  as  my  bride,"  ejaculated  Lehman. 

"You  are  living  with  a  woman  whom  you  have 
called  your  wife  for  years  and  four  others  that 
you  term  wives?" 


512  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

*'I  have  had  five  wives  in  the  past,  and  verily 
the  Lord  hath  bestowed  this  one  on  me  as  my 
sixth  this  day. ' ' 

"Sir,  the  laws  of  the  United  States  prohibit 
the  practice  of  polygamy,  and  this  ceremony, 
which  you  and  your  allies  have  just  forced  upon 
this  young  lady,  is  not  only  absolutely  null  and 
void,  but  you  are  each  guilty  of  falsely  imprison- 
ing her. '  * 

Lola  had  somewhat  aroused  by  this  time,  but 
was  still  supported  by  her  father's  arm.  She 
gazed  at  Adrian  with  a  vacant  stare  as  he  ap- 
proached her  with  arms  extended  and  started 
toward  him,  then  stopped  and  looked  wildly 
about  her,  when  Adrian  said : — 

*'0  my  long-lost  Lola!  Is  it  possible  that  you 
do  not  knov\r  me?" 

**Yes,  Adrian,  I  know  you.  Thank  God!  I 
have  reached  you — safely — in  heaven,"  she  an- 
swered feebly,  and  fell  into  his  arms,  when  they 
bore  her  to  Adrian's  carriage. 

The  marshal  then  read  the  warrant  to  Leh- 
man, after  which  they  placed  the  manacles  on 
him  and  he  took  his  seat  in  the  carriage  with  the 
marshal  and  the  deputy. 

Thus  the  fairest  maid  of  all  the  intermountain 
region,  and  the  last  survivor  of  the  Mountain 
Meadow  horror,  was  at  last  rescued  from  the 
hateful  grasp  of  Mormonism. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

An  old  apostate  was  the  proprietor  of  a  small 
inn  at  St.  George.  He  was  an  Englishman  by 
birth,  and  had  entitled  his  place  *'The  Inn  of  St. 
George," 

During  the  first  trial  of  Bishop  John  D.  Lee,  an 
order  was  made  by  the  holy  priesthood  at  Zion, 
that  all  the  Saints,  from  the  prophet  down, 
should  be  rebaptized,  in  order  lo  cleanse  them- 
selves pure  and  spotless  from  the  blood  shed  at 
Mountain  Meadow;  but  "Old  Joe  Hull,"  as  the 
Saints  called  him  after  he  had  apostatized,  refused 
to  be  baptized  again  when  informed  as  to  the 
reason  for  the  proceeding,  saying  at  the  time : — 

**I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  massacre,  there- 
fore I  have  no  sins  to  cleanse." 

But  the  members  of  the  priesthood  who  waited 
upon  him  answered  by  saying: — 

**A11  the  Saints  bear  the  condemnation  of  the 
Gentiles  and  the  carpet-bag  officers  because  of 
this  deed,  which  was  ordered  by  the  holy  priest- 
hood, as  a  means  of  forwarding  the  interests  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  but  the  wickedness 
of  the  devil,  as  manifested  through  the  United 
States  courts  and  their  so-called  officers,  makes 
it  imperative  that  the  Saints  free  themselves  of 
the  charge,  *by  being  rebaptized,  as  some  of  our 
own  people  are  foolish  enough  to  believe  it  was 
wrong.  • ' 


5^3 


514  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

It  was  to  this  inn  that  Adrian  and  party  went 
at  once  after  the  rescue  of  Lola  and  the  placing 
of  Lehman  in  custody.  Here  they  stopped  for 
the  night  and  at  once  sent  for  Willy,  as  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Allison  had  decided  to  return  to  Zion  with 
Mr.  Stanton. 

Willy  had  refused  to  go  near  the  temple,  say- 
ing:— 

*'I  cannot  stand  to  see  my  dear  sister  humil- 
iated and  dragged  down  in  such  a  manner. ' ' 

He  was  now  a  young  man  of  twenty — hand- 
some and  intelligent — bearing  a  resemblance  to 
his  father.  When  he  came  and  learned  of  the 
rescue  and  met  with  Adrian  again,  his  joy  knew 
no  bounds.  After  being  separated  from  his„ 
sister,  and  thinking  Adrian  was  dead,  a  cloud  of 
sorrow  hung  over  him  and  he  had  grown  medita- 
tive and  serious;  but,  as  he  shook  hands  with 
Adrian,  his  juvenile  expressions  of  sarcasm  re- 
turnedj  as  he  said: — 

"Dear  Adrian,  I  am  truly  glad  that  Uncle  Sam 
has  begun  to  lay  hands  on  these  old  warts  in  the 
proper  style. " 

Lola  had  a  raging  fever  during  the  evening  and 
night.  She  had  not  gained  consciousness  suffi- 
cient to  fully  realize  what  was  going  on  around 
her,  after  sinking  on  the  steps  of  the  temple. 
When  she  aroused  from  her  stupor  her  thoughts 
wandered  in  her  feverish  delirium,  as  she  talked 
of  the  scenes  of  the  day  through  which  she  had 
passed. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  '    515 

Adrian  lay  down  and  rested  peacefully  for  the 
first  time  since  receiving  the  cablegram  from  Mr. 
Stanton,  leaving  Lola  in  the  care  of  her  parents 
and  Willy,  after  first  receiving  the  promise, 
that  should  she  grow  worse  during  the  night  he 
should  be  awakened.  He  awoke  early  and  found 
that  Lola  was  growing  worse. 

When  daylight  came  it  was  apparent  to  all  that 
her  sickness  was  assuming  a  serious  nature.  The 
next  difficulty  which  confronted  them  was,  how 
they  should  remove  her,  and  get  a  physician,  as 
there  was  not  one  closer  than  two  hundred  miles. 
After  a  long  consultation  it  was  decided  to  make 
her  a  bed  in  one  of  the  carriages,  leaving  suffi- 
cient room  for  one  person  to  sit  and  watch  over 
her,  and  her  mother  was  assigned  this  duty.  Mr. 
Stanton  suggested  that  they  ought  to  have  a 
physician  meet  them,  when  Jed  said: — 

**I  will  hurry  on  to  Juab  and  telegraph  to  your 
physician  to  come  on  the  first  train  and  I  will 
secure  a  rig  and  bring  him  to  meet  you. ' ' 

This  was  at  once  agreed  upon  and  Jed  started 
before  the  rest  of  the  company.  An  hour^nd  a 
half  later  and  the  whole  company  started,  with 
Lola's  carriage  in  front,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
dust.  They  arrived  at  Filmore  the  evening  of 
the  third  day,  where  they  were  met  by  Jed  and 
the  physician.  It  had  been  a  long,  weary  trip, 
but  Lola  received  almost  as  good  care  in  the 
closed  carriage  as  if  she  had  been  in  a  house,  and 
was  not  much  worse  than  the  natural  ravages  of 


5l6   .  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

the  fever  would  make  her.      After  careful  exam- 
ination, the  physician  said: — 

**We  have  a  very  sick  patient  on  our  hands  and 
must  get  her  to  the  journey's  end  as  quickly  as 
possible,  where  I  can  have  everything  that  is 
needed  in  her  case ;  she  has  a  violent  attack  of 
typhoid  fever. ' ' 

Adrian's  sorrow  knew  no  bounds  at  this  an- 
nouncement, for  he  feared  that  he  had  rescued 
her  only  to  have  her  taken  from  him  again ;  and 
at  least  it  would  be  some  time  before  she  could 
realize  that  she  was  in  the  care  of  her  true 
friends  and  even  know  him. 

They  drove  all  that  night  and  arrived  at  Juab 
in  time  to  catch  the  train  for  Zion  the  next  morn- 
ing, and,  in  five  hours,  Lola  was  in  a  pleasant  and 
comfortable  room  at  the  same  hotel  where  Ver- 
non Stanton  stopped,  surrounded  by  her  parents 
and  friends,  with  her  lover  frequently  at  her 
bedside. 

Lehman  was  given  a  preliminary  hearing  at 
the  Garden  City  before  the  United  States  com- 
missioner for  the  district,  who  held  him  to  await 
the  action  of  the  district  court  in  the  sum  of 
twenty  thousand  dollars. 

Jed  went  at  once  in  search  of  Adrian's  parents. 
Lola's  life  seemed  to  hang  in  the  balance  for  a 
period  of  three  weeks,  then  the  fever  left  her  so^ 
weak  that  the  physician  and  her  friends  feared 
she  would  never  rally.  The  loving  parents, 
brother  and  devoted  lover,  watched   the  turning 


THE^FALSE    STAR.  517 

point  with  breathless  anxiety.  They  feared  they 
had  rescued  their  loved  one  only  to  lose  her.  At 
last  the  climax  was  passed,  her  pulse  grew 
stronger,  her  respiration  became  natural,  and  the 
physician  announced  that  the  danger  line  was 
passed.  She  fell  into  a  restful  sleep  and  on 
awakening  she  opened  her  eyes  and  said  to  her 
mother : — 

"I  thought  I  heard  the  voice  of  Adrian." 
Then  her  eyes  closed  for  a  moment,  when  her 
mother  said : — 

'  'Adrian  is  here  with  us,  my  child.  * ' 

**May  I  see  him?"  she  said. 

He  moved  to  her  bedside  and,  taking  her  hand 
gently  in  his  own,  bent  over  her  to  catch  her 
words.  As  he  looked  into  her  eyes  he  saw  the 
gleam  of  intelligence  and  a  faint  smile  on  her 
lips,  as  she  whispered : — 

**It  is,  indeed,  my  long-lost  Adrian." 

Adrian  was  so  overcome  with  emotion  that  he 
could  not  answer  her,  when  the  physician  advised 
him  to  retire  as  she  should  be  kept  perfectly 
quiet,  telling  her  at  the  same  time  that  every- 
thing was  as  she  desired.  For  some  time  all 
were  excluded  from  the  room  but  her  parents, 
nurse  and  physician.  During  this  time  she 
improved  rapidly,  but  everything  was  veiled  in 
mystery.  She  could  not  understand  Adrian's 
presence,  where  she  was,  nor  how  she  came  there. 
She  inquired  several  times,  but  was  told  that  she 
was,  yet,  too  weak  to  hear  the  particulars.      When 


5l8        '  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Adrian  was  again  admitted  into  her  presence 
they  were  then  allowed  to  enter  into  the  details 
of  his  long  absence  and  her  rescue,  which  was  a 
long  story.  She  now  saw  through  everything 
clearly,  and  the  knowledge  of  his  being  alive  did 
more  to  bring  back  her  old-time  vigor  than  all 
else  combined.  She  improved  rapidly  and,  by 
the  last  of  June,  was  able  to  take  rides  in  the 
open  air  as  far  as  the  canons. 

When  Adrian  heard  from  his  parents  and  Jed, 
they  were  at  San  Francisco.  Immediately  after 
leaving  the  Garden  City,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waltham 
went  to  Sacramento,  where  he  began  work  by 
the  day  at  fair  wages.  He  soon  had  a  little  sav- 
ings laid  by  and  with  this  he  bought  a  few  thou- 
sand shares  in  a  promising  mining  corporation. 
It  was  not  long  before  this  company  struck  a 
large  body  of  fine  ore  and  the  stock  advanced 
rapidly.  Within  two  months  after  the  great 
strike  in  the  mine,  Mr.  Waltham  sold  his  interest 
in  the  property  for  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  at 
once  removed  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business  and  was  now 
very  prosperous.  The  news  of  Adrian  being 
alive  and  having  returned  to  Zion,  also  the  rescue 
of  Lola  was  to  them  like  the  coming  back  of  the 
dead. 

Their  cup  of  joy  was  full  to  overflowing  and 
they  decided  to  start  to  the  city  of  Zion  immedi- 
ately to  meet  their  darling  boy  who,  they  thought 
for  years,  had  found  a  grave  beneath  the  waves 


TH^FALSE    STAR.  519 

of  the  great  Atlantic.  They  supposed  all  of  the 
Allison  family  had  been  offered  up  as  a  blood 
atonement,  because  of  their  mysterious  disap- 
pearance, and,  fearing  that  they  would  soon  share 
the  same  fate,  they  left  the  country  at  once.  It 
was  about  the  middle  of  July  when  Jed  found 
them,  and,  three  days  later,  they  arrived  at  Salt 
Lake  City.  It  was,  indeed,  a  happy  reunion  of 
the  once  wrecked  and  downcast  Waltham  family. 
Lola,  by  this  time,  had  entirely  regained  her 
health,  and  she  and  Adrian  were  now  informed 
of  her  true  origin,  as  given  at  the  trial  of  Bishop 
John  Doyl  Lee. 

After  hearing  the  story  of  her  origin  and  the 
cniel  way  in  which  her  parents,  grandparents, 
uncles,  aunts,  cousins  and  friends,  had  been  mur- 
dered by  the  Saints,  she  told  them  of  the  strange 
vision  that  appeared  to  her  the  night  she  was 
torn  from  her  parents  at  the  Garden  City;  then 
continuing,  she  said  sorrowfully : — 

'*Now  I  fully  understand  who  the  angelic 
figures  were.  Their  protecting  care  has  ever 
been  over  me  since  that  time ;  for,  when  in  sorest 
distress,  their  presence  has  ever  sustained  me  by 
turning  my  mind  to  Jesus.  I  can  further  under- 
stand why  my  whole  being  has  so  revolted 
against  the  teachings  and  practice  of  the  Saints. ' ' 
Then  turning  to  Adrian,  she  continued:  "Dear 
Adrian,  we  have  had  a  sad  experience  and  have 
discovered  many  things  during  our  trials.  We 
have  decided,   as  you  know,  that  our   wedding 


520  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

should  take  place  as  soon  as  you  found  your 
parents,  that  they  might  be  in  attendance.  We 
talked  this  morning  of  its  being  within  the  week 
after  they  arrived,  but  now,  that  I  am  bowed 
down  with  this  new  and  great  sorrow,  let  us  wait 
a  little  longer.  I  do  not  want  to  be  married 
within  the  borders  of  the  territory  where  my 
parents  were  so  cruelly  murdered.  I  also  want 
sufficient  time  to  visit  the  place  where  the  awful 
deed  was  done,  and  pay  my  respects  to  their  mem- 
ory while  I  am  yet  entitled  to  bear  their  precious 
name,  whatever  it  may  be.  Alas!  mine  is  a 
sorrowful  condition — unable  to  know  my  own 
name,  or  that  of  my  own  parents." 

This  was  said  with  so  much  feeling  that  all 
present  were  melted  to  tears.  Mrs.  Allison  was 
deeply  affected,  when  Lola  went  to  her  and 
throwing  her  arms  around  her,  lovingly,  she 
said : — 

'*My  dear  mother!  The  only  mother  I  ever 
knew  until  now;  this  disclosure  will  never  lessen 
my  love  for  you,  papa,  and  Willy.  God,  in  his 
providence,  has  been  merciful  to  me,  in  this, 
that  I  was  permitted  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
such  noble,  upright  and  virtuous  people.  I  can 
never  repay  you  sufficiently  for  the  love  and 
kindness  you  have  shown  me." 

* 'My  dear  child, "  said  Mrs.  Allison,  ''the  hap- 
piness that  we  have  experienced,  by  having  you 
in  our  family,  has  more  than  rewarded  us  for 
everything  we  have  done  for  you. ' '  She  then  im- 


f 

THE    FALSE    STAR.  521 

pressed  a  loving  kiss  upon  her  mother's  lips  and 
turned  to  Adrian  saying: — 

"Dear  Adrian,  you  have  not  answered  my 
suggestion  as  to  setting  the  date  for  our  umon 
farther  ahead.  Under  all  the  circumstances, 
don't  you  think  it  would  be  the  better?" 

*'Let  all  arrangements  be  made  according:  to 
your  will,  Lola;  but  give  the  directions  and  we 
will  act  accordingly.  We  will  want  a  number  to 
accompany  us  to  Mountain  Meadow.  Let  us  now 
arrange  the  time  for  this  trip.  It  would  be 
more  pleasant  to  make  the  trip  in  September, 
but,  at  that  time,  I  will  be  compelled  to  be  in 
attendance  at  the  district  court  at  the  Garden 
City,  as  Lehman's  trial  is  set  for  the  first  week 
and  it  might  be  delayed." 

"How  about  your  case  against  him,  for  the 
money  that  he  has  obtained  upon  the  drafts  you 
sent  to  your  father?" 

"The  trial  of  this  case  is  set  for  the  second 
week  in  September,  but  I  received  word  from 
my  attorneys  this  morning  that  he  wanted  to 
compromise  my  case  against  him  by  paying 
$7,000,  provided  I  would  take  his  fine  black  team 
and  carriage,  at  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  a 
piano  he  has  at  Filmore  at  seven  hundred  dollars. 
The  balance  he  agrees  to  pay  in  cash.  I  am 
debating  the  question  in  my  mind  whether  I 
shall  accept  the  proposition  or  not." 

"What  piano  did  you  say?" 

"It  is  the  piano  that  is  at  the  place  where  he 
kept  you  at  Filmore. ' ' 


522  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

*'I  do  not  know  why;  but  I  have  always  felt 
so  peculiar  about  that  piano. ' ' 

''Perhaps  I  can  shed  some  light  upon  your 
mysterious  feelings  with  reference  to  this  piano, " 
said  Jed. 

"I  pray  you,  do  so  then,  for  I  should  like  so 
well  to  know  the  reason." 

' '  The  piano  belonged  to  your  mother.  Kling- 
ensmith  told  Henry  Spiral,  and  he  told  me  that 
Lehman  got  this  instrument  as  his  share  of  the 
spoils  from  Mountain  Meadow,  and  that  it  was 
the  property  of  the  mother  of  the  child  whom  he 
got" 

.  "While  I  was  there,  near  it,  I  felt  that  I  could 
not  bear  to  play  on  it ;  but  now  I  feel  that  I 
must  come  into  possession  of  it." 

The  compromise  was  made  at  once  and  Lola 
became  the  possessor  of  this  instrument.  It  sat 
in  one  of  the  wagons  at  the  siege  at  Mountain 
Meadow,  with  the  back  to  the  Saints,  and  had 
three  bullet  holes  in  the  casing,  where  bullets 
had  passed  through  the  wood  and  had  indented 
the  iron  sounding  board,  but  without  damaging 
its  tone.  When  these  holes  were  discovered  in 
the  back,  Jed  said: — 

"These  are  evidences  of  the  love  that  the 
Saints  bear  toward  their  fellow  man." 

After  remaining  two  weeks  at  Zion,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Waltham  returned  to  San  Francisco,  as  Mr. 
Waltham  had  come  away  so  hurriedly,  that  he 
had  left  his  business  in  such  condition  that  he 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  523 

could  not  remain  away  from  it  longer.  By  this 
time  Jed  had  everything  in  readiness  for  the  trip 
to  Mountain  Meadow  and,  as  it  was  pleasant 
weather,  they  decided  to  camp  at  night  on  the 
route. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Lola  with  her  friends  started  to  Mountain 
Meadow  the  next  morning,  after  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Waltham  left  for  San  Francisco.  Among  the 
company  were  her  foster  parents,  Adrian,  Willy, 
Mr.  Stanton,  Jed,  Rev.  Thomas  Gray,  the  min- 
ister of  the  church  to  which  Mr.  Stanton  belonged 
in  the  East,  and  at  this  time  Mr.  Stanton's  guest, 
and  a  number  of  other  friends. 

The  weather  was  delightful  during  the  trip, 
except  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  it  was 
somewhat  oppressive  at  times.  In  the  evening, 
when  in  camp,  they  all  assembled  to  hear  Rev. 
Gray  talk  upon  and  explain  the  Bible.  These 
meetings  were  enjoyed  and  appreciated  by  all  the 
members  of  the  party,  and  especially  by  Adrian 
and  Lola,  who  were  anxious  to  learn  everything 
concerning  that  religion  which  was  free  from  the 
taint  of  polygamy. 

On  reaching  Filmore  they  encamped  near  the 
village;  Jed  happened  to  meet  his  old  friend, 
Henry  Spiral,  and  Henry  at  once  informed  Flora 
that  Lola  was  among  a  company  who  were  en- 
camped on  the  river. 

Flora  went    in   company   with   Henry   to  the 
camp,   and  finding  Lola,  who  gave  her  a  hearty 
greeting,  she  asked  for  a  private  interview.     Lola 
took  her  to  her  tent  and  said : — 
524 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  525 

"Something  seems  to  trouble  you,  what  is  it, 
Flora?" 

'*Yes,  I  am  in  trouble  about  my  salvation. 
Ever  since  I  left  you  at  the  old  Cedar  City  prison, 
my  mind  has  been  in  a  state  of  unrest,  because  of 
my  wasted  and  sinful  life.  After  associating 
with  you  for  a  year  and  a  half  and  knowing  your 
innocent  and  pure  life,  I  thought  of  the  great 
contrast  between  my  life  and  yours.  I  loved  you, 
however,  better  than  any  girl  I  ever  saw,  and 
there  resolved  to  live  a  better  life.  When  I  saw 
you  dragged  from  the  hack  that  night  at  the 
prison  by  Lehman  and  Sally,  I  was  filled  with 
disgust  and  self  reproach,  because  I  was  a  mem- 
ber of  an  organization  that  would  keep  such  a 
man  as  a  member,  much  less  keep  him  in  a  prom- 
inent position.  I  have  forsaken  my  former 
ways  and  faith,  and  have  tried  to  live  an  honest, 
virtuous  life  befitting  a  Christian  woman.  God 
knows  how  well  I  have  succeeded  in  this  regard 
and  that  my  actions  have  been  in  harmony  with 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  as  you  construe  it. 
This  change  has  cost  me  all  of  my  former  friends. 
They  have  ostracized  me.  They  have  said  to  me 
many  times;  'You  have  evidently  caught  the 
spirit  of  the  apostasy  frOm  that  contemptible  Al- 
lison girl.*  I  answered  that  I  wished  I  were  half 
so  good  as  she.  O  dear  Lola,  I  regret  so  much 
the  life  I  have  lived !  I  have  prayed  so  hard  that 
I  might  be  forgiven.  I  feel  the  indwelling  spirit, 
as  a  witness,  that  I  have  at  least  partially  sue- 


526  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ceeded  at  the  throne  of  grace.  Tell  me,  dear 
Lola,  is  there  a  place  outside  of  this  church  for 
me  to  live  a  Christian  life?" 

"Dear  Flora,  I  am  truly  glad  to  hear  you  talk 
in  this  manner.  I  want  you  to  go  with  me  and 
talk  to  Rev.  Gray,  I  know  that  he  can  give  you 
the  light  which  you  seek." 

They  went  to  the  minister,  who  was  just  about 
to  begin  the  evensong  meeting,  with  the  com- 
pany seated  around,  and  Lola  requested  that  he 
give  his  time,  for  this  evening,  to  an  inquiring 
soul,  that  all  might  reap  the  benefit  of  his  in- 
structions. He  was  pleased  to  grant  the  request. 
He  then  turned  to  Flora  and  asked  what  instruc- 
tions she  desired.  She  then  laid  the  burden  of 
her  transgressions  before  him,  and  explained  her 
repentant  condition,  as  she  had  explained  to  Lola, 
when  he  said: — 

"He  who  seeks  repentance  for  the  past, 
Should  woo  the  angel  virtue  in  the  future." 

Then  taking  the  Bible  he  read  the  eighth  chap- 
ter of  St.  John  and  explained  it.  After  finishing 
the  lesson  on  this  chapter,  he  said : — 

"My  good  woman,  you  would  not  be  rejected 
by  any  good  church  in  this  christian  land,  for  they 
all  follow  the  teachings  of  the  Master,  and  He 
said,  with  reference  to  the  sheep  that  was  lost 
and  found,  '  I  say  unto  you,  that  likewise  joy  shall 
be  in  heaven  over -one  sinner  that  repenteth, 
more  than  over  ninety  and  nine  just  persons, 
which  need  no  repentance. '  *' 


THE  ♦aLSL    star.  527 

Flora  sat  weeping,  after  the  meeting  was  over, 
and  Lola  went  to  her  and  asked: — 

*'Dear  Flora,  is  there  anything  that  I  can  do  to 
comfort  you?" 

"Dear  Lola,  I  do  not  know.  The  way  is  not 
clear.  If  I  live  the  religion  on  which  my  heart  is 
set,  I  cannot  malce  a  living  among  these  people," 
answered  Flora,  when  Lola  said : — 

**This  shall  not  be  a  barrier  between  you  and 
the  Saviour.  Come  and  go  with  us  to-morrow 
morning  and  you  shall  never  want." 

Henry  Spiral  was  also  desirous  of  joining  the 
party,  and  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Stanton 
and  Adrian  for  a  position  in  their  mines;  and 
having  a  good  riding  horse  with  equipments,  he 
and  Flora  joined  the  party  the  next  morning. 

They  reached  the  brow  of  the  hill,  just  before 
entering  the  glen  at  Mountain  Meadow,  where 
they  halted.  Here  they  alighted,  then  formed  a 
procession,  and  marched,  with  uncovered  and 
bowed  heads,  to  the  rude  monument ;  here  Rev. 
Gray  and  Vernon  Stanton  sang  in  a  very  im- 
pressive manner: — 

"Go  bury  thy  sorrow, 

The  world  hath  ils  share ; 

Go  bury  it  deeply, 

Go  hide  it  with  care, 

Go  think  of  it  calmly. 

When  curtained  by  night, 
^  Go  tell  it  to  Jesus, 

^  And  all  will  be  right. 

"Go  tell  it  to  Jesus, 
He  knoweth  thy  grief; 
Go  tell  it  to  Jesus, 
He'll  send  thee  relief; 


528  THE   FALSE    STAR. 

Go  gather  the  sunshine 
He  sheds  on  the  way ; 
He'll  li.e^hten  thy  burden, 
Go,  weary  one,  pray. 

"Hearts  growing  a- weary 
With  heavier  woe, 
Now  droop- 'mid  the  darkness — 
Go  comfort  them,  go.     : 
Go  bury  thy  sorrows; 
Let  others  be  blest; 
Go  give  them  the  sunshine; 
Tell  Jesus  the  rest." 

Then  the  minister  read  the  first  seven  verses 
of  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes,  after  which 
he  offered  prayer.  He  then  read  from  the  fif- 
teenth chapter  of  Corinthians,  as  follows: — 

'*For  since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  came 
also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

*'For  as  in  Adam,  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive.  * ' 

He  then  made  appropriate  remarks,  after  which 
all  the  company,  except  Adrian  and  Lola,  sang:— 

"They're  gath'ring  homeward  from  ev'ry  land,"  etc. 

They  were  then  dismissed,  and  the  company 
turned  to  go  away ;  but  Lola  lingered,  and  lean- 
ing against  the  monument,  she  grazed  at  the  cross; 
then  wept  as  a  child.    - 

Her  grief  seemed  as  great  as  if  she  had  known 
her  parents,  relatives  and  friends  all  her  life,  and 
that  they  had  died  but  yesterday.  Adrian  and 
her  parents  tried  to  console  her;  but  it  seemed 
she  could  not  be  comforted.     She  finally  said : — 

*'0h,  what  suffering  my  parents  and  relatives 


THE    FALSE   STAR.  529 

must  have  endured  in  that  awful  time.  The 
horrible  spectacle,  the  last  struggle,  and  when  it 
was  over,  the  ground  strewn  with  their  mangled 
forms,  comes  vividly  to  my  imagination.  Oh,  can 
I  ever  cease  to  think  of  this  awful  picture!" 
Here  Rev.  Gray  approached  her  and  said: — 
"Dear  friend,  I  pray  you  may  be  comforted. 
They  who  loved  you  in  your  tenderest  days,  are 
not  lost  to  you  forever ;  they  fade  no  more,  nor 
realize  pain  nor  fear.  They  have  reached  a 
celestial  habitation.  We  may  feel  sad,  because 
of  their  fate;  but  while  we  weep  and  wonder, 
they  are  wrapt  in  the  blissful  joy  of  Heaven. 
Shadows  fall  upon  them  no  more.  Who  has  no 
loved  ones  in  Heaven?  Where  is  the  one  whose 
heart  has  not  ached  with  sorrow,  amid  the  blasts 
that  have  congealed  his  earthly  hopes,  and  with- 
ered mortal  love?  Beneath  this  cross,  dedicated 
to  the  memory  of  an  unfortunate  band,  our  hearts 
are  heavy  with  the  memories  that  hang  over  it. 
Our  little  company  is  multiplied  by  their  presence, 
and  the  communion  with  the  departed  will  make 
Heaven  more  attractive  to  us." 

They  led  her  tenderly  from  the  place,  and 
started  on  their  journey  homeward.  They  camped 
that  night  near  Cedar  City,  and  as  Lola  stood  in 
the  door  of  her  tent  that  evening,  looking  across 
the  hills  toward  Mountain  Meadow,  her  heart 
was  filled  with  inexpressible  sadness,  as  the 
thoughts  of  the  place,  with  its  history,  passed 
through  her  mind.      The  next  morning,  as  they 


53^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

were  preparing  to  resume  the  journey,  she  re-, 
quested  that  they  go  to  the  old  prison,  as  she- 
wanted  to  see  Sally.  Since  Lola  had  been  taken 
from  the  prison,  Old  Sally  had  felt  her  loneliness 
more  keenly  than  ever  before.  She  had  longed 
to  see  Lola  once  more,  and  her  joy  knew  no 
bounds  when  she  learned  from  Lola  that  she  had 
been  rescued  from  Lehman,  and  that  Adrian  had 
returned.  From  the  association  with  Lola  she 
had  improved  in  every  way,  and  when  the  com- 
pany started  to  take  their  leave  she  begged  Lola 
to  take  her  with  her,  saying : — 

"My  dear  little- gal,  I  ha'n't  got  much  longer  ter 
live  here  any  way.  This  ol'  place  has  been 
mighty  lonesome  'thout  yer  bein'  here.  Its 
mighty  hard  ter  think  o'  dyin'  here  alone,  wi' 
nobody  ter  say  narry  kind  word,  ner  put  my  poor 
ol'  carcass  in  the  groun'.  Can't  I  go  'long  wi' 
yer  chile,  ter  be  yer  slave?  I  will  work  fer  yer 
as  long  as  these  ol'  hands  has  strength.  I  want  ter 
worship  God  and  his  Son  as  yer  teched  me  when 
yer  war  here.  It  war  sich  a  conserlation  ter  my 
poor  ol'  soul,  when  yer  used  ter  read  ter  me 
frum  yer  Bible;  but  I  ha'n't  furgot  hit  yit.  Do 
take  me  gal,  fer  I  want  ter  know  more  about  hit. " 

The  sight  of  this  aged  and  lonely  woman,  plead- 
ing, with  the  tears  streaming  down  her  wrinkled 
cheeks,  to  be  taken  from  that  awful  place,  filled 
all  with  pity.  Lola  was  so  affected,  that  she 
could  not  speak  for  a  few  moments;  but  fioally 
she  said: — 


t 

THE    FALSE    STAR.  531 

"Yes,  Sally,  you  may  go;  not  as  a  slave,  how- 
ever; your  life  has  already  been  too  hard,  and  the 
time  has  now  come  when  you  can  rest. ' ' 

Sally  was  so  happy  with  the  thought  that  she 
was  leaving  this  place  never  to  return,  that  she 
could  scarcely  make  the  necessary  preparations 
for  the  journey.  Lola  assisted  her,  and  advised 
her  what  she  should  do  with  her  things.  Sally 
took  her  little  bundle  of  things  that  she  wanted 
to  take  along,  and  rode  with  the  driver  in  the 
supply  wagon.  When  they  reached  the  main 
road,  she  met  a  farmer  and  disposed  of  her  cow 
and  hogs  for  half  their  value  and  gave  the  farmer 
the  remainder  of  the  things  she  had  left  at  the 
prison. 

The  remainder  of  the  trip  was  made  without 
anything  of  an  unusual  character  taking  place. 
The  evening  meetings-  were  continued,  which 
helped  to  bring  Lola  out  of  the  gloom  into  which 
she  had  fallen  at  Mountain  Meadow.  These 
were  great  meetings  for  Sally,  as  she  had  never 
heard  anything  like  Rev.  Gray's  teachings,  except 
during  the  days  when  Lola  was  at  the  old  prison 
with  her. 

They  arrived  at  Zion  late  in  the  evening  of  the 
29th  of  August,  and  learned  that  the  pure  soul  of 
the  holy  Prophet  Brigham  Young  had  winged  its 
flight  to  the  celestial  shore,  where  more  than  two 
hundred  prominent  women  of  the  world's  history 
awaited  the  coming  of  their  partner  for  eternity 
(according  to  his  revelations),   as  he  had   been 


532  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

sealed  to  them.  His  sweet  and  charming  thirty- 
seven- fold  widow  was  left  to  mourn  the  loss  of 
her  loving  husband. 


CHAPTER  L. 

The  next  day,  after  reaching  Zion,  Adrian  and 
Lola,  the  third  time,  set  the  day  for  their,  mar- 
riage. They  decided  to  have  the  wedding  at  San 
Francisco,  on  the  first  day  of  October. 

Adrian  and  Mr.  Allison  attended  the  trial  of 
Lehman,  the  next  week,  at  the  Garden  City. 
The  Saints  were  there  in  immense  numbers. 

The  indictment  charged  him  with  unlawfully 
cohabiting  with  one  Wilhelmina  Persivie,  and 
holding  her  out  to  the  world  as  his  wife,  while 
he  was  also  living  with  Celia  Lehman,  his  lawful 
wife.  The  case  of  the  Government  was  proven 
conclusively.  The  defense  had  no  evidence  to 
offer,  but  moved  a  dismissal.  The  court  over- 
ruled the  motion  and  the  case  went  to  the  jury, 
who  soon  returned  with  a  verdict  of  guilty.  A 
motion  was  made  by  the  attorneys  for  the  defend- 
ant, for  a  new  trial,  alleging  several  grounds  of 
error.  After  hearing  the  arguments  for  and 
against  the  motion,  the  court  overruled  the  same 
and  sentenced  him  to  five  years  in  the  peniten- 
tiary. The  case  was  then  appealed  to  the  Su- 
preme court  of  the  Territory. 

Adrian  and  Mr.  Allison  returned  to  Zion,  im- 
mediately after  the  trial  was  over,  and  now  they 
turned  their  attention  to  the  preparation  for  the 
San  Francisco  trip.     Adrian  and  Lola  visited  the 

533 


534  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

mine  at  Park  City.  Mr.  Stanton  and  Jed  were 
very  busy  getting  everything  in  shape  for  a  leave 
of  absence.  The  dividends  from  the  mine  were 
increasing,  as  they  increased  the  number  of  hands 
and  the  machinery,  being  at  this  time  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  per  month,  clear  of  all  expenses.  The 
great  amount  of  fine  ore,  principally  silver  and 
lead,  with  a  small  per  cent,  of  gold,  that  was  being 
blocked  out,  told  that  this  output  would  continue 
for  years.  Mr.  Stanton  and  Adrian  were  the  sole 
owners  of  this  property.  Two  weeks  after  this 
trip  to  the  mine,  everything  was  in  readiness  for 
the  joyous  trip  to  the  western  coast.  Adrian  had 
secured  a  neat  little  cottage  at  Zion,  in  which 
Flora  and .  Sally  were  to  live  for  the  present. 
Lola  had  the  wen  removed  from  Sally's  face,  the 
old  tooth  drawn,  and  the  deserted  gums  supplied 
with  a  full  set ;  then  with  her  hair  combed  neatly, 
and  dressed  in  suitable  clothing,  no  one  would 
have  recognized  in  her  the  same  woman  who  had 
lived  so  long  in  the  old  prison.  Flora  was  a  good 
dress-maker,  and  now  turned  her  attention  to  this 
business;  and  having  enough  friends  among  the 
Gentiles,  who  were  willing  to  lend  a  helping  hand, 
was  soon  able  to  make  a  good  living  for  herself 
and  Sally,  who  did  the  housework  for  the  two. 
Flora  had  given  all  of  her  time,  during  the  past 
two  weeks,  to  assisting  the  leading  dress-maker  in 
finishing  Lola's  wardrobe. 

The  time  had  now  come  for  Adrian  and  Lola  to 
take  their  departure.     Their  friends  assembled  at 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  535 

the  Station  to  bid  them  God's  speed,  and  all  were 
happy  and  jubilant  over  the  triumph  of  this  much 
wronged  couple  over  their  foes;  in  fact  all  of  the 
Gentiles  throughout  the  Territory,  who  knew  of 
the  circumstances,  were  wild  with  delight.  It  was 
the  finest  appearing  company  who  had  ever  left 
Zion.  Lola  never  looked  more  beautiful  than  she 
now  appeared  in  her  elegant  gray  traveling  suit. 
They  had  a  palace  car,  at  the  rear  of  the  train, 
especially  for  them  and  their  friends,  who  were 
to  accompany  them. 

As  the  Union  Pacific  train  steamed  away  from 
the  station,  bearing  the  happy  party,  their  friends 
still  shouted  their  good  wishes  and  showered  good 
luck  in  handful  after  handful  of  rice. 

Sally  and  Flora  watched  the  train  until  it  passed 
from  view,  in  the  evening  twilight,  then  turned 
their  steps  homeward.  They  were  glad  that 
Adrian  and  Lola,  together  with  their  parents, 
were  beyond  the  power  of  their  persecutors;  yet 
they  felt  sad  because  they  were  to  be  separated 
from  them  for  a  time. 

At  Ogden,  the  coach  in  which  Adrian  and  Lola 
and  party  were  traveling,  was  transferred  to  the 
Central  Pacific.  The  next  day  was  spent  in 
noting  the  change  of  scenery  as  they  passed  along. 
This  feature  of  the  journey  was  very  entertain- 
ing to  Lola,  as  well  as  other  members  of  the 
party,  whose  travels  had  been  mostly  confined  to 
Utah.  As  the  train  pulled  out  of  Reno,  Nevada, 
where  they  had  just  taken  supper,  Vernon  Stan- 


536  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ton,  Standing  in  the  midst  of  the  company  and 
pointing  in  that  direction,  said: — 

*^*  Virginia  City  lies  twenty  miles  to  the  south- 
east of  this  place.  See  yon  rising  mountain? 
That  is  Mount  Davidson,  whose  elevation  is  six 
thousand  three  hundred  f^et.  Virginia  City  lies 
on  its  steep,  rugged  eastern  slope.  The  throng 
of  people  you  saw  stopping  at  Reno,  or  boarding 
the  train,  was  bound  for,  or  returning  from,  that 
great  mining  district.  Virginia  City  is  built  over 
the  great  Comstock  Lode.  This  mineral  vein 
has  yielded  more  of  the  precious  metals  than  any 
other  single  deposit  in  the  history  of  mining. 
Hundreds  of  men  have  grown  rich  in  a  week  from 
this  wonderful  bonanza.  It  was  here  that  I  was 
first  attracted  toward  mining,  sufficiently  to 
become  personally  interested  in  the  business;  and 
learned  to  love  and  respect  those  hardy  sons  of 
toil,  who  with  prospect  pick  and  shovel,  climb  the 
craggy  heights  by  day,  and  roll  themselves  in  their 
blankets  by  night,  and  lie  down  to  sleep  amidst 
the  hills  under  a  starry  or  a  clouded  sky,  in  search 
of  gold  and  silver,  in  order  that  they  may  benefit 
not  only  themselves  but  the  human  family,  by 
bringing  these  metals  from  their  hiding,  and  turn- 
ing them  into  the  channels  of  trade,  that  they 
may  become  a  part  of  the  world's  circulating 
medium.  Often  they  cast  anchor  on  a  prospect, 
gather  in  numbers  to  develop  it,  skimp  and  live 
on  the  hardest  fare  for  days  and  months,  only  to 
find  that  the  lode  doesn't  pay.     There  are  ninety- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  537 

nine  prospects  that  fail,  to  one  that  brings  returns. 
But  when  they  meet  with  success,  the  returns  are 
so  great  and  the  benefits  so  extensive  that  it  does 
my  soul  good  to  hear  of  a  splendid  strike.  No 
wrong  can  possibly  be  laid  at  the  door  of  him 
who  grows  rich  in  this  way.  By  his  liberality, 
he  benefits  all  who  come  in  contact  with  him  and 
leave  the  product  for  future  generations.  I  honor 
the  men  who  have  made  of  the  United  States  one 
of  the  greatest  mining  countries  in  the  world." 

The  rest  of  the  evening  was  spent  in  discussing 
the  mineral  wealth  and  resources  of  the  United 
States  and  its  development.  They  had  entered 
California  and  were  climbing  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mountains,  when  they  retired  the  second  night. 
They  arrived  at  San  Francisco  the  next  morning 
at  eight  o'clock,  where  they  were  met  at  the  sta- 
tion by  Adrian's  parents  with  a  number  of  their 
friends.  Adrian  and  Lola,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allison 
and  Willy  were  driven  immediately  to  Mr.  Wal- 
tham's  residence,  where  they  remained  during 
that  day.  The  other  members  of  the  party  were 
driven  to  one  of  the  best  hotels  in  the  city. 

The  ceremony  was  to  take  place  at  the  church, 
where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waltham  held  their  member- 
ship and  had  attended  regularly  ever  since  arriv- 
ing in  that  city,  three  years  before.  After  spend- 
ing the  day  at  the  Waltham  residence,  Mr.  Allison 
and  his  family  went  to  the  hotel  where  the  rest 
of  the  party  were  stopping  and  took  "*up  their 
lodging  there,  until  the  marriage  should  be  sol- 
emnized. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

The  happy  day  had  come  at  last  when  Adrian 
and  Lola  should  wed.  The  celebration  of  the 
nuptials  was  to  take  place  at  the  extreme  Occident, 
in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  located  cities  in  the 
world,  a  spot  worthy  in  every  respect  of  the  hap- 
piest day  of  one's  life  to  be  celebrated,  even  of  the 
last  survivor  of  the  greatest  crime  ever  committed 
on  American  soil,  and  on  whom  six  years  of  the 
most  infamous  persecution  had  been  heaped,  in 
order  to  wrest  from  her  that  which  makes  of 
woman  the  sweetest  charm  of  earth ;  yet  through 
it  all  she  had  emerged  as  pure  and  spotless  as  the 
snow  on  the  topmost  peaks  of  the  Rocky  Range. 

The  sun  rose  bright  on  that  beautiful  October 
morn,  sending  his  rays  across  the  land  of  fruit 
and  flowers,  dispelling  the  darkness  from  the 
splendid  city,  the  Golden  Gate,  the  Presidio, 
Alcatraz,  and  Angel  Islands*  fortifications,  the 
beautiful  bay  at  the  east  and  north,  the  great 
Pacific  on  the  west,  whose  mighty  waters  reach 
on  and  on,  until  it  forms  the  union  between  the 
Orient  and  the  Occident. 

In  the  midst  of  these  surroundings  the  lovers 
awoke;  she,  at  the  most  spacious  apartments  of 
the  finest  hotel  in  the  city;  he,  at  the  splendid 
home  of  his  parents  two  miles  away.  They  were 
now  far-from  the  land  of  the  Saints  and  the  scenes 

538 


T^    FALSE    STAR.  539 

of  their  bitter  persecution.  Hitherto,  according  to 
the  divine  laws,  it  was  theirs  to  live  separate  and 
apart;  in  the  future  it  would  be  theirs,  according 
to  the  same  sacred  rule,  to  live  together  and  enjoy 
the  felicitous  blessing  of  the  same  happy  home. 
Oh,  what  joy  this  contemplated  blessing  brought  to 
them  as  they  arose  on  this  eventful  day!  But,  as 
they  permitted  a  glance  back  over  the  sorrowful 
days  of  the  past;  he,  on  the  gloomy  days  spent  at 
Liverpool,  when  forced  to  do  mission  work  for 
the  Saints;  she,  upon  the  lonely,  miserable  days, 
weeks  and  months  spent  at  the  Cedar  City  prison, 
they  shuddered  and  half  feared  that  the  present 
happy  conditions  might  be  a  dream  that  soon 
would  end  by  a  sudden  awakening;  but  it  was  a 
reality ;  no  more  bitter  experiences,  to  be  inflicted 
by  the  Saints,  awaited  them. 

The  day  was  passed  and  as  the  sun  sent  up  a 
faint  light  from  behind  the  mighty  deep,  Lola's 
maid  announced  that  Adrian  was  in  waiting  in 
the  parlor,  when  Lola  directed  that  he  be  admitted 
at  once  to  her  private  apartments. 

Soon  Adrian  came  into  the  room  where  she 
arose  to  greet  him,  arrayed  in  her  bridal  costume ; 
after  saluting  her  and  impressing  a  kiss  upon  her 
lips,  he  said:  "Dear  Lola,  I  never  saw  you  look 
more  beautiful,  except  when  standing  in  front  of 
Bridal-Veil  Falls,  as  the  flush  of  joy  and  excite- 
ment played  upon  your  lovely  countenance,  as  I 
raised  the  beautiful  fish  from  the  dashing  waters 
of  old  Timpanogos.     That  was  the  zenith  for  me 


540  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

at  that  kind  of  angling.  Since  that  time,  I  have 
been  angHng  in  a  different  stream,  the  great 
stream  of  humanity  that  has  been  rushing  on 
since  the  days  of  Adam.  At  one  time  I  thought 
the  coveted  prize  was  lost ;  but  thanks  be  to  our 
Heavenly  Father,  to-night  the  prize  is  mine. ' ' 

Just  as  Lola  started  to  answer,  Vernon  Stanton 
appeared  at  the  door  and  announced  that  every- 
thing was  in  waiting. 

The  church  was  beautifully  decorated  with 
potted  tropical  plants  and  cut  flowers;  around 
the  altar  was  a  magnificent  floral  display.  Im- 
mediately in  front  of  the  altar  was  an  arch  covered 
with  magnolia  and  orange  blossoms.  From  the 
center,  of  the  arch  hung  the  wedding  bell  covered 
with  small  white  flowers,  and  from  the  center  of 
the  bell  hung  a  large  half- blown  white  lily. 

A  vast  audience  filled  the  church  to  overflowing. 
Many  were  friends  of  Adrian's  parents,  while  the 
greater  number  came  to  see  and  to  do  honor  to 
the  last  survivor  of  the  Mountain  Meadow  crime, 
who  would  have  graced  the  Golden  State,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  ill  fate  of  her  people. 

Promptly  at  eight  o'clock  the  organist  began 
the  wedding  march.  A  breathless  silence  fell 
upon  the  audience,  as  the  friends  of  Adrian  and 
Lola  who  had  accompanied  them  from  Zion, 
together  with  a  number  of  near  friends  of  the 
Waltham  family  in  the  city,  marched  in  and  took 
seats  near  the  altar,  which  had  been  reserved  for 
them ;  then  came  the  parents  of  Adrian,  followed 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  54I 

by  Lola's  foster  parents,  and  lastly  the  happy 
pair.  On  reaching  the  altar  Adrian's  parents 
stood  to  the  right,  and  Lola's  to  the  left, 
under  the  arch,  Adrian  and  Lola,  coming  up 
between,  stopped  immediately  under  the  bell. 
Lola  was  attired  in  a  wedding  gown  of  white 
satin,  with  lace  overdress,  ornamented  with  mag- 
nolia and  orange  blossoms.  A  wreath  of  the 
same  flowers  adorned  her  head  from  which  the 
filmy  bridal  veil  fell  to  the  floor.  The  music 
ceased,  the  minister  descended  from  the  altar 
immediately  in  front  of  them  and  pronounced  a 
short,  impressive  ceremony  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  of  the  United  States.  A  sparkling  dia- 
mond shone  from  her  finger,  the  first  she  had  ever 
worn,  and  they  were  pronounced  husband  and 
wife.  The  music  began,  the  wedding  party 
marched  down  the  other  aisle,  and  the  ceremony 
was  over. 

The  wedding  party  was  driven  at  once  to  the 
Waltham  residence  where  supper  was  served  to  a 
large  number  of  guests. 

The  next  day  Adrian  and  his  bride  started  for 
Europe,  on  their  bridal  tour;  the  rest  of  the  party 
visited  the  places  of  interest  around  San  Francisco 
during  the  next  week,  then  returned  to  Zion. 

Their  trip  to  Europe  was  very  pleasant.  They 
visited  many  places  of  interest  during  their  stay, 
and  while  in  England  they  visited  Margaret  Baird 
Salisbury  and  her  people,  who  gave  them  a  recep- 
tion at  which  many  of  the  nobility  were  present. 


542  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

Adrian  and  Lola  were  charmed  with  the  dignity 
and  elegance  of  manner  of  the  people  they  met 
on  this  occasion,  and  spoke  to  Margaret,  after- 
ward, of  the  great  contrast  between  their  refined 
and  cultured  appearance  and  the  coarse,  unre- 
strained conduct  of  the  people  with  whom  they 
had  spent  their  childhood  days. 

After  their  European  tour  was  ended,  they 
returned  to  America  and  settled  down  in  San 
Francisco  for  life.  Their  wealth  was  increasing 
rapidly  from  the  dividends  they  were  receiving 
from  the  mine  at  Park  City. 

Adrian  bought  a  neat  little  home  for  Sally  and 
Flora,  in  the  suburbs  of  San  Francisco;  and  for 
years  they  lived  a  happy  life  at  this  place,  giving 
much  of  their  time  to  the  cause  of  Christianity. 
They  lived  in  harmony  with  the  teachings  of 
Christ,  as  interpreted  by  the  "Sweet  Angel,'*  as 
Sally  always  called  Lola.  When  Lola  visited 
them,  or  they  in  return  visited  her,  Sally  would 
always  insist  on  Lola  telling  them  something 
more  of  the  blessed  Saviour,  which  was  always  a 
pleasant  task  for  Lola.  On  these  occasions  she 
often  said  to  Sally: — 

"The  seed  I  sowed  during  the  dark  day^  of 
prison  life  fell  on  good  ground. ' ' 

She  would  then  take  the  well-worn  Bible,  which 
had  afforded  her  and  Sally  so  much  consolation 
while  at  that  gloomy  place,  and  read  chapter 
after  chapter  to  Sally. 

Flora    married    a    wealthy   contractor  of   San 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  543 

Francisco,  a  few  years  later,  and  resides  there  to 
this  day ;  and  from  the  day  she  parted  with  Lola 
at  the  old  Cedar  City  prison,  when  Lola  was  left 
there  by  Lehman,  she  had  lived  an  upright,  hon- 
est, Christian  life.  She  has  passed  the  noon  of 
life  and  is  now  traveling  toward  the  eventide,  her 
hair  is  streaked  with  gray;  and  as  she  kneels  be 
side  her  bed  at  night,  to  give  thanks  to  God  for 
her  changed  life,  she  forgets  not  to  thank  Him 
that,  in  the  light  of  His  divine  providence,  she 
was  permitted  to  come  in  contact  with  the  sweet 
girl  who,  when  in  direst  distress,  looked  to  the 
Cross  for  strength  to  help  her  on. 

Henry  Spiral  became  assistant  at  the  mine 
under  Jed  as  superintendent.  Mr.  Allison  be- 
came secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  company. 
Willy  Allison  married  a  young  lady  in  one  of  the 
eastern  states  and  settled  down  for  life  in  the 
great  city  of  New  York  as  an  attorney  and  coun- 
selor at  law,  where  he  became  prominent  in  his 
profession. 


CHAPTER  LII. 

When  Zina  Blatherskite  saw  Adrian  at  the  tem- 
ple door  on  the  evening  that  Lola  was  rescued, 
her  old  passion  for  him  was  so  intensified  that 
she  grew  desperate,  and  when  she  heard  of  the 
party's  leaving  Zion  for  San  Francisco,  she  raved 
like  a  maniac,  censuring  the  dignitaries  for  many- 
things  that  had  not  gone  to  suit  her.  She  had 
called  a  meeting  of  the  leaders  which  convened 
at  the  Garden  City,  about  the  time  that  Lola  and 
her  party  passed  that  place  on  their  way  to 
Mountain  Meadow  to  hold  the  memorial  services. 

After  the  meeting  had  assembled,  Zina  tried  to 
prevail  on  the  dignitaries  to  see  to  it  that  the 
company  was  stopped  and  that  an  end  be  put  to 
the  ungodly  Gentiles  increasing  in  their  midst. 
The  dignitaries  were  free  to  agree  with  her  that 
such  ought  to  be  the  case,  but  they  feared  the 
consequences  that  would  follow.  They  were  able 
to  quell  her  mad  reasoning  for  a  time,  but,  when 
she  heard  that  the  train  had  left  Zion  bearing 
Adrian  and  Lola  and  their  party  to  the  western 
coast,  her  passion  knew  no  bounds.  She  stated 
many  times  that  the  leaders  of  the  church  were 
the  greatest  band  of  cowards  that  ever  disgraced 
the  earth.  So  violent  was  her  rage,  for  the  first 
two  days  afterward,  that  none  dared  to  venture  in 
her  presence.     Then  she  sank  into  a  sullen  mood 

544 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  545 

and  would  not  answer  any'  call.  She  was  the 
bishop's  favorite  wife,  yet  he  believed  that  she 
was  desperately  in  love  with  Adrian.  When  the 
news  of  the  wedding  came  he  hoped  that  she 
wopld  now  become  reconciled. 

Bishop  Blatherskite  read  the  account  of  the 
wedding  in  the  paper  and  sent  Lily  to  take  the 
paper  to  Zina.  She  was  sitting  in  an  easy  chair 
with  her  feet  against  the  base  of  a  large  window. 
She  wore  a  loose  wrapper,  with  a  shawl  muffled 
around  her  shoulders  and  neck.  She  took  no 
notice  of  the  girl  as  she  entered  the  room  with 
the  paper  in  her  hand.  Lily  approached  her 
and  laying  the  paper  gently  in  her  lap,  said: — 

**Aunt  Zina,  papa  has  sent  you  this  paper." 

Zina  glanced  at  the  headlines  in  the  paper,  as 
Lily  spoke,  and  the  pictures  of  Adrian  and  Lola 
met  her  gaze.  She  changed  from  the  sullen 
mood,  in  an  instant,  to  a  furious  rage.  She 
sprang  from  her  chair  like  a  tigress  and,  seizing 
Lily  by  the  hair,  threw  her  with  great  force  to 
the  floor,  as  Lily  shrieked  in  terror: — 

"Help!  help!  help!" 

The  bishop  and  other  members  of  the  family 
came  running,  in  answer  to  the  call;  but  alas! 
they  were  too  late.  Zina  had  seized  a  large  speci- 
men of  ore,  which  was  lying  on  the  center  table, 
and  hurled  it  with  all  her  might  at  the  poor  girl, 
striking  her  on  the  temple,  crushing  her  skull, 
and  killing  her  instantly.  Then  rushing  to  her 
dresser,  she  took  a  dagger  frora  the  drawer  and 


54^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

plunged  it  into  her  own  heart,  falling  lifeless 
across  the  dead  body  of  Lily,  as  the  terrified  mem- 
bers of  the  household  came  rushing  into  the  room. 
The  bishop  was  so  shocked  at  the  ghastly  sight, 
and  grieved  to  see  his  favorite  end  in  such  a 
tragic  death,  that  he  became  temporarily  insane. 

Thus  ended  the  life  of  the  poor  innocent  Lily, 
the  last  of  Rhoda's  children,  cruelly  murdered  by 
the  hand  of  the  woman  who  was  the  moving 
cause  in  the  destruction  of  her  brother  and  sister. 
Sad  and  lonely  had  been  the  life  of  this  sweet 
girl,  since  the  death  of  her  mother,  James,  and 
Evelyn.  She  had  visited  her  mother's  grave 
often  and  would  sit  for  hours  by  the  sacred  spot 
thinking  of  the  loved  ones  that  were  gone.  Many 
times  her  mind  reverted  to  the  day  her  mother 
was  buried,  to  the  funeral  services  and  the  prayer 
that  Bodenheimer  offered,  beseeching  the  Heav- 
enly Father  to  throw  his  protecting  arm  around 
the  grief-stricken  children  and  she  thought  how 
inconsistent  he  and  the  rest  of  the  brethren  had 
acted  toward  them. 

Bishop  John  D.  Lee  had  been  executed.  Bill 
Hickman,  Porter  Rockwell  and  Brigham  Young 
were  no  more,  and  Zina,  "The  Divine"  had  taken 
her  "w^hite  wings."  Thus,  the  power  of  the 
church  was  passing  into  other  hands.  John 
Taylor,  an  Englishman,  succeeded  Brigham  as 
prophet,  seer  and  revelator.  He  was  a  weaker 
man,  mentally,  but  much  better  morally.  There 
was  a  power  now  behind  the  throne  in  the  person 
of  George  Q.  Cannon. 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  547 

The  case  of  Bishop  Lehman  came  on  for 
hearing  a  year  later  in  the  Supreme  court,  where 
the  decision  of  the  District  court  was  confirmed. 
The  church  organization  was  behind  him  and  the 
case  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme  court  of  the 
United  States,  where  the  decision  was  again  con. 
firmed.  The  remittitur  was  sent  back  to  the 
District  court  at  the  Garden  City  and  Bishop 
Francis  Lehman  was  again  arraigned  for  sentence 
on  the  second  Monday  in  January,  1883,  and  the 
same  sentence  was  again  pronounced  against  him, 
when  the  judge  of  the  court  said: — 

''Francis  Lehman,  you  have  been  regularly 
indicted  by  a  grand  jury  of  this  court  for  unlaw- 
fully cohabiting  with  a  woman,  to- wit:  one  Wil- 
helmina  Persivie  and  holding  her  out  to  the  world 
as  your  wife,  while  you  have  a  lawful  wife  living 
and  with  whom  you  also  live  and  cohabit.  You 
were  tried  by  a  jury  of  twelve  men  of  your  peers 
who  found  you  guilty  as  charged  in  the  indict- 
ment. The  sentence  of  this  court  was  then  pro- 
nounced against  you.  You  appealed  from  the 
judgment  of  this  court  to  the  Supreme  court  of 
the  Territory,  where  the  decision  was  confirmed. 
From  that  decision  you  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
court  of  the  United  States,  where  the  decision  of 
this  court  was  again  confirmed  and  its  remittitur 
has  been  duly  transmitted  to  this  court,  ordering 
that  the  sentence  be  carried  into  execution 
Have  you  any  legal  reason  to  offer  why  the  sen- 
tence of  this  court  should  not  be  again  pronounced 
against  you  and  carried  into  effect?" 


54^  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

*'Yes,  I  have  this  to  say.  The  jury  who  sat  in 
my  case  were  not  'of  my  peers — no,  not  of  my 
peers.  I  am  a  Saint,  they  are  ungodly  Gentiles. 
Your  *infernal  courts'  have  no  jurisdiction  to  try 
the  children  of  God  for  that  which  He  has  com- 
manded." 

"Have  you  nothing  further  to  say?" 

**No,  I  have  nothing  further  to  say.  I  will  not 
stoop  to  dignify  the  officers  of  a  viper  nation  of 
earth  by  entering  into  a  controversy  with  them 
— ^yes,  a  controversy  with  them. ' ' 

*'It  is  the  judgment  of  this  court  that  you, 
Francis  Lehman,  be  taken  to  the  penitentiary  of 
this  Territory  and  there  kept  in  close  confinement 
for  a  period  of  five  years.  You  are  now  remanded 
to  the  custody  of  the  United  States  marshal  who 
will  see  that  this  sentence  is  duly  carried  into 
.effect." 

The  Saints  were  again  working  hard  for  state- 
hood and  now  felt  that  they  had  it  in  their  grasp ; 
but  it  was  met  by  strong  resistance  from  the 
Gentiles  and  the  coveted  prize  was  again  lost. 

With  the  confirmation  of  the  decision  of  the 
lower  court  in  the  Lehman  case,  scores  of  Saints 
were  indicted  under  the  same  charge.  These 
indictments  were  found  against  almost  all  of  the 
dignitaries  of  the  church  and  many  of  the  lay 
members.  Pronouncing  judgment  for  this  crime 
became  of  daily  occurrence  in  the  various  courts, 
in  many  instances  the  court  sentencing  as  high 
as  twelve  to  fifteen  in  a  single  day.      The  word 


THE   FALSE    STAR.  549 

**cohab"  became  the  title  by  which  those  charged 
and  convicted  of  this  crime  were  designated.  It 
was  common  on  the  streets  of  Zion,  Ogden,  Garden 
City  and  Beaver,  where  the  courts  were  located, 
for  Mormon,  Jew  or  Gentile  to  remark, — 

"Let  us  go  over  to  the  court  and  see  how  many 
*cohabs'  go  up  to-day." 

About  fifteen  hundred  were  in  the  penitentiary 
at  one  time  v/liile  Lehman  was  there.  Lehman 
served  his  full  time  and  was  then  released.  He 
returned  to  his  hoim  at  the  Garden  City,  where 
he  was  met  at  the  station  by  five  thousand 
Saints,  assembled  to  welcome  the  return  of  this 
good  brother  who  had  been  so  vilely  persecuted 
at  the  hands  of  "this  infamous  government." 

A  band  headed  the  procession  which  was  formed 
to  escort  him  to  his  home.  Next  came  Sunday- 
school  children  bearing  banners  and  transparen- 
cies, who  were  followed  by  the  older  Saints  bear- 
ing cartoons  and  inscriptions  deriding  the  gov- 
ernment and  its  oflficers,  from  the  President 
down,  and,  lastly,  a  burly  Saint  dragged  the  stars 
and  stripes  in  the  mud. 

When  the  few  Gentiles  who  witnessed  the  pro- 
cession beheld  this  last  spectacle,  their  indigna- 
tion was  beyond  control  and  they  attempted  to 
rescue  the  sacred  emblem,  but  were  forced  to 
retreat  in  disorder,  owing  to  their  inferior  num- 
bers, though  not  until  many  had  suffered  from 
wounds  received  from  fists,  clubs  and  rocks, 
which  were  used  freely  by  the  Saints.      When 


55©  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

overpowered  by  superior  strength,  this  little  band 
of  loyal  American  citizens  turned  from  the  scene 
and  left  the  streets,  refusing  to  witness  the  pol- 
lution of  freedom's  banner. 

On  arriving  at  the  home  of  Lehman,  he  made 
a  speech  which  was  a  perfect  tirade  of  abuse 
against  the  government  and  the  Federal  officers. 
In  closing,  he  said: — 

' '  This  government  is  too  infamous  for  the  chil- 
dren of  God  to  endure.  I  will  take  my  little 
flock  and  hie  me  to  the  land  of  Mexico,  where  I 
can  live  the  religion  of  God  as  revealed  through 
the  holy  priesthood — yes,  as  revealed  through  the 
holy  priesthood. ' ' 

Lehman  at  once  closed  out  and  took  his  little 
flock,  consisting  of  five  head  of  wives,  thirty- 
seven  head  of  children,  with  a  similar  number  of 
horses  and  cattle,  and  journeyed  southward,  even 
unto  the  land  of  Mexico,  where  many  of  the 
brethren  followed  during  the  next  five  years. 
There  they  attempted  to  establish  polygamy  and 
practice  the  same  without  restraint,  but  the  Mex- 
ican government  soon  put  an  end  to  the  practice 
and  the  emigration  from  Zion  to  Mexico  ceased. 

Such  disloyal  scenes  as  the  Lehman  demon- 
stration and  the  abuse  heaped  upon  the  Gentiles, 
the  government  and  its  officers,  caused  the  most 
intense  animosity  to  exist  between  the  opposing 
forces.  Prosecutions  and  convictions  went  on 
without  abating.  Many  of  the  Saints  apostatized. 
A  large  emigration  of  Gentiles  was  now  flowing 


THE    FALSE    STAR,  55I 

into  the  Territory.  The  Mormons  had  banded 
themselves  together  under  the  name  of  the 
** People's  Party"  while  the  Gentiles  were  called 
the  "Liberal  Party."  The  People's  party  had 
carried  all  the  local  elections  for  city,  county  and 
territorial  officers  that  were  not  appointed  from 
Washington,  except  the  mining  towns  of  Park 
City,  Eureka,  and  the  little  farming  community 
of  Corinne.  At  the  next  municipal  election  in 
the  city  of  Ogden,  after  Lehman  had  been 
released  from  prison,  the  battle  was  fought  with 
the  most  bitter  feeling  and  resulted  in  the 
triumph  of  the  Liberal  ticket  with  a  Jew  as  the 
first  Gentile  mayor.  "Utah  is  the  only  place  in 
the  world  where  a  Jew  is  called  a  Gentile." 

The  emigration  continued  to  be  largely  Gen- 
tile. The  Liberal  party  began  to  organize  for  a 
desperate  fight  for  the  control  of  the  municipal 
affairs  in  the  city  of  Zion,  and,  at  the  election  in 
February,  1890,  carried  that  city  by  a  good 
majority.  The  campaign  had  been  a  desperate 
struggle,  under  the  leadership  of  Hon.  O.  W. 
Powers  as  chairman  of  the  Liberal  committee 
and  Hon.  R.  N.  Baskin  at  the  head  of  the  ticket 
for  mayor. 

The  Gentiles  of  the  entire  Territory  were  wild 
with  delight  over  the  victory  and  the  ratification 
which  followed  was  of  the  most  enthusiastic 
nature.  Still  the  Saints  held  out  against  the 
government  and  persisted  in  the  violation  of  the 
laws  of  the  land,  and  still  the  persecutions  went 


552  THE   FALSE    STAR. 

on.  A  r.egular  line  of  march  of  Saintly  law  break- 
ers was  kept  from  the  courts  to  the  penitentiary. 

The  contest  for  delegate  to  Congress  came  on 
in  November  with  Judge  C.  C.  Goodwin  bearing 
the  standard  of  the  Liberals,  and  Hon.  John  T. 
Cane,  who  had  been  elected  to  this  position 
several  times  before,  was  the  candidate  of  the 
People's  party.  It  resulted  in  an  overwhelming 
victory  for  Cane.  Still  the  Saints  persisted  in 
the  violations  of  the  laws  and  still  the  prose- 
cutions and  convictions  went  on. 

In  the  spring  of  1891  a  movement  was  started 
by  a  few  Gentiles  and  Mormons,  for  a  division 
on  national  party  lines,  who  looked  upon  the 
present  condition  of  things  as  being  un-American. 
It  was  strongly  resisted  at  first,  by  both  the  Lib- 
eral and  People's  parties.  The  Gentiles  who  were 
in  the  movement  thought  at  first  that  it  would 
take  a  number  of  years  to  establish  the  division, 
and,  feeling  that  it  would  do  more  to  break 
down  the  bitter  animosity  existing  between  the 
people  and  to  Americanize  the  Saints  than  all 
things  else,  and  desiring  this  above  every  other 
political  consideration,  pressed  forward  in  the 
fight. 

The  movement  grew  beyond  all  expectations. 
At  first,  as  much  from  the  Liberal  as  from  the 
People's  party,  b  t  within  a  year  the  leaders  of 
the  church  called  the  People's  party  together  and 
it  was  disbanded.  The  Saints  were  told  that  "in 
the  future  they  were  free  to  act  politically  as 
they  pleased." 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  553 

The  Liberal  party  still  maintained  its  organiza- 
tion. In  October,  1890,  Wilford  Woodruff,  who 
had  succeeded  John  Taylor  as  prophet,  seer  and 
revelator,  had  received  a  revelation  that  the  Saints 
should  abandon  the  practice  of  polygamy.  The 
general  conference,  which  was  then  in  session, 
ratified  it  by  a  unanimous  vote,  and,  to  all  out- 
ward appearances,  the  brethren  at  once  began  to 
live  in  harmony  with  the  same.  The  Gentiles 
hoped  and  believed  that  the  action  of  the  church 
was  sincere  and  soon  the  Liberal  party  was  dis- 
banded. They,  being  true  American  citizens,  at 
once  allied  themselves  with  the  national  party  of 
their  liking,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  Utah,  all  the  people  were  supposed  to  be  on 
the  basis  of  American  politics. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

After  the  division  on  national  party  lines,  an 
era  of  apparently  good  feeling  prevailed  through- 
out the  entire  land  of  Zion.  At  the  November 
elections  of  1892  and  1894  everything  seemed  to 
be  all  that  could  be  desired,  one  party  gaining  at 
one  election  and  the  other  party  at  the  next. 
During  this  time  the  American  people  had  come 
to  believe  that  the  Mormons  were  sincere  in  their 
manifestations  of  loyalty  and  encouraged  them  in 
every  way  possible  to  be  true  to  the  government. 
They,  through  their  representatives,  had  passed 
an  enabling  act  through  both  houses  of  Congress, 
which  was  signed  by  the  President,  providing  a 
way  for  Utah  to  become  a  sovereigfn  State. 

The  first  presidency  of  the  Mormon  church, 
consisting  of  Wilford  Woodruff,  George  Q.  Can- 
non and  Joseph  F.  Smith,  stated  time  and  again, 
in  public  and  in  private,  in  official  documents  and 
in  interviews,  that  the  Saints  were  absolutely 
free  to  act  in  all  matters  of  state  as  they  chose, 
that  church  and  state  were  forever  separate  and 
that  polygamy  was  a  thing  of  the  past,  for  the 
reason  that  now  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter  Day  Saints  prohibited  the  practice. 
Apostles,  presidents  of  seventies,  bishops,  presi- 
dents of  stakes,  and  high  priests  also  made  these 
statements  repeatedly.      These    promises   were 

554 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  555 

made  so  often  and  with  such  emphasis  that  their 
most  bitter  opponents  had  come  to  believe  them 
genuine. 

The  enabling  act  was  liberal  in  its  donations 
to  the  State,  forgiving  one-half  million  dollars 
indebtedness  which  was  owing  to  the  govern- 
ment, giving  the  State  University  much  valuable 
land,  and  eight  millions  of  acres  to  the  State, 
beside  many  other  donations,  thus  showing  that 
the  American  people  were  perfectly  willing  to 
receive  them  with  open  arms  into  the  Union  if 
they  would  only  act  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  of  the  laws  of  the  land. 

The  enabling  act  further  provided  that  no 
church  should  ever  dominate  the  state  nor  inter- 
fere with  the  function  thereof,  that  the  free 
public  school  system  should  be  forever  main- 
tained, and  that  polygamy  should  be  forever 
prohibited  in  the  State.  It  further  provided  for 
a  constitutional  convention  to  be  elected,  whose 
duty  it  should  be  to  draft  a  constitution,  republican 
in  form  and  in  harmony  with  all  the  conditions  of 
the  enabling  act,  which,  when  duly  ratified  by  a 
vote  of  the  people  of  the  State,  would  constitute 
the  compact  between  the  State  of  Utah  and  the 
government  of  the  United  States. 

The  members  of  the  constitutional  convention 
were  duly  elected  at  the  November  election  in 
1894,  and  convened  the  following  February.  At 
this  convention  they  accepted  the  terms  of  the 
enabling   act  in  every  respect,  which  was  duly 


556  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

ratified  by  the  votes  of  the  people  of  the  territory 
at  the  November  election  in  1895,  thus  complet- 
ing the  contract. 

The  present  congressman -elect  from  Utah  was 
a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention,  and 
was  also  a  candidate  for  the  lower  house  of  Con- 
gress at  the  fall  election  when  the  constitution 
was  voted  upon  by  the  people.  During  the 
progress  of  the  constitutional  convention  he 
(a  strong  Mormon)  gained  great  favor  with  the 
Gentiles  throughout  the  Territory  because  of  his 
opposition  to  the  insertion  in  that  document  of  a 
clause  providing  for  woman  suffrage.  The 
Mormons  were  in  favor  of  the  provision  and  the 
Gentiles  were  opposed  to  it,  and,  when  he  was 
nominated  as  a  candidate  for  Congress,  his  can- 
didacy created  great  enthusiasm,  especially 
among  the  Gentiles.  During  the  progress  of  the 
campaign  the  priesthood  of  the  Mormon  church 
made  a  feint  at  him  as  a  candidate,  when,  in 
fact,  it  was  striking  at  one  of  the  candidates  nom- 
inated with  him  on  his  ticket  for  the  United 
States  Senate,  and,  further,  to  give  him  (the 
present  congressman-elect)  a  chance  to  display  his 
assumed  independence  of  character. 

He  then  encouraged  the  reconvening  of  the 
convention  which  had  nominated  him,  and,  when 
many  of  the  Gentiles  wanted  to  withdraw  the 
ticket  and  fight  statehood,  he,  in  a  bold,  dramatic 
manner,  asked  that  this  be  not  done,  as  there 
was  enough  power    among    the    liberal-minded 


THE     FALSE    STAR.  557 

Saints  to  right  every  wrong,  if,  after  statehood 
came,  the  leaders  of  the  church,  as  such,  should 
attempt  to  dominate  the  State.  He  crowned  his 
masterly  speech  with  this  strong  statement : — 

'*He,  who  attempts  to  dominate  the  State  as  a 
churchman,  is  not  only  an  enemy  to  the  church 
but  a  traitor  to  the  State. " 

This  became  his  pet  saying  throughout  the 
Territory  during  the  campaign,  and,  wherever  he 
repeated  it,  the  people  woi^ld  rise  en  masse  and 
cheer  and  cheer  again,  with  the  wildest  enthusi- 
asm. The  Gentiles  cheered  from^  the  inspiration 
of  love  of  country  and  loyalty ;  the  Saints,  from 
an  intense  desire  to  deceive  the  American  people. 

During  the  progress  of  the  campaign,  George 
Q.  Cannon,  of  bond-jumping  fame,  and  the  pro- 
pelling power  of  the  church  since  the  days  of 
Brigham,  in  a  Sunday  sermon,  at  Brigham  City, 
made  a  vicious  attack  on  Hon.  O.  W.  Powers, 
chairman  of  the  party  which  had  nominated  the 
present  congressman -elect,  charging  him  (Powers) 
with  corruption  in  his  manner  of  conducting  the 
Liberal  campaign  when  he  led  that  party  to 
victory  in  Salt  Lake  City  in  1890.  This  attack 
aroused  the  ire  of  every  Gentile  in  both  political 
parties  throughout  the  Territory,  and  Cannon  saw 
that  he  had  made  a  wonderful  mistake,  and,  with 
bold  effrontery,  he  denied  next  morning  having 
referred  to  that  campaign  or  Powers  in  any  way. 
When  confronted  by  his  brethren,  who  were 
present  and  heard  his  remarks,  and  they  affirmed 


55^  THE     FALSE    STAR. 

that  he  did  make  the  statements,  he  answered: 
"I  have  no  recollection  about  the  matter  what- 
ever and  was  never  so  humiliated  in  all  my  life." 

From  this  time  until  the  4th  of  January  fol- 
lowing many  of  his  brethren  pronounced  him  the 
modern  Ananias.  The  constitution  carried  with 
it  an  overwhelming  majority,  with  many  of  the 
Gentiles  voting  against  it.  A  complete  set  of 
State  officers,  a  congressman,  a  legislature  were 
also  elected  at  this  election,  and,  now,  all  things 
awaited  the  proclamation  of  President  Cleveland. 

On  the  4th  of.  January,  1896,  Adrian  Waltham, 
his  wife  and  three  children,  two  boys  and  a  girl, 
Sylvester,  Howard  and  Mary,  whose  ages  were 
respectively  fifteen,  twelve  and  ten,  Vernon 
Stanton,  and  a  number  of  other  friends,  sat  in 
the  parlor  of  a  large  hotel  at  the  city  of  Zion. 
The  annual  election  of  officers  for  the  mining 
company  had  taken  place  the  day  before.  Adrian 
and  his  family  had  reached  Zion  from  their  home 
in  San  Francisco  a  few  days  prior  to  attend  the 
meeting  of  the  company  and  to  visit  the  Allison 
family.  The  weather  was  cold  and  sleighing 
was  fine.  The  jingling  of  sleigh  bells  could  be 
heard  on  every  hand.  It  was  a  perfect  winter 
morning.  Suddenly,  the  cannon  at  the  fort 
"began  booming,  the  whistles  of  the  city  began 
shrieking,  the  bells  pealing,  the  people  shouting, 
all  uniting  to  make  one  mighty  sound  of  accla- 
mation. 

"What  is  the  reason  of  all  this  demonstration?" 
inquired  Lola. 


THi    FALSE    STAR.  559 

"It  is  the  advent  of  Utah's  star  upon  the  Amer- 
ican flag,"  answered  Mr.  Stanton. 

"I  might  have  known  this,  if  I  had  taken  the 
second  thought." 

''The  demonstration  sounds  jubilant,"  said 
Adrian,  **but  I  fear  the  government  has  made  a 
great  mistake," 

'*I  think  not,"  said  Vernon  Stanton.  ** These 
people  have  grown  to  be  American  citizens  since 
you  moved  from  their  midst.  The  last  four  years 
have  wrought  a  great  change.  I  was  one  of  the 
last  to  give  up  the  dear  old  Liberal  party  and  lay 
down  the  fight,  but  I  guess  it  is  all  right.  The 
Saints  have  ceased  to  practice  polygamy  and 
have  made  it  a  violation  of  the  rules  of  the 
church.  They  held  a  constitutional  convention, 
composed  of  about  three- fourths  Mormons  and 
drafted  a  good  document,  accepted  the  conditions 
of  the  enabling  act,  and  it  forever  'prohibits  the 
practice,  it  guarantees  the  maintenance  of  the 
free  public  school  system,  and  declares  that  no 
church  shall  dominate  the  State  nor  interfere  with 
the  functions  thereof. '  This  forever  separates 
church  and  State  in  Utah.  I  believe  that  it  will 
be  a  bright  and  shining  star  and  will  reflect 
credit  upon  the  nation,  by  growing  strong  in 
loyalty,  industry  and  wealth." 

He  turned  from  the  window  where  he  had  been 
watching  a  part  of  the  celebration  and  saw  a  look 
of  amazement  depicted  in  Lola's  countenance,  as 
she  said: — 


560  THE  False  star. 

*'I  am  surprised  beyond  measure  at  your  words, 
Mr.  Stanton.  I  never  heard  you  utter  words 
before  that  sounded  light  to  me.  I  truly  hope 
j^ou  are  not  mistaken,  but  I  fear  you  do  not  read 
aright." 

As  she  spoke  these  words  with  much  feeling, 
she  turned  from  the  window,  that  she  might  not 
see  more  of  the  demonstration. 

Be  it  remembered  to  the  everlasting  praise  of 
Lola  and  a  goodly  number  of  Gentiles  of  Utah 
that  they  never  placed  any  confidence  in  the 
pledges  of  the  Saints.  Those  who  resided  in 
Utah  kept  silent,  when  they  saw  the  inevitable, 
knowing  to  oppose  meant  ostracism  and  ruination 
in  business;  yet,  they  had  gone  quietly  to  the 
polls  and  cast  their  silent  vote  against  statehood 
by  voting  against  the  constitution,  hoping  and 
praying,  against  fate,  that  the  awful  calamity  of 
statehood  would  yet  be  averted.  On  the  other 
hand  thousands  of  Gentiles,  who  had  fought 
polygamy  and  the  union  of  church  and  State,  as 
they  thought,  to  the  end,  and  whose  patriotism 
cannot  be  questioned,  believed  as  did  Vernon 
Stanton  on  this  day,  and  even  joined  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  advent  of  this  star  upon  the  flag. 
They  cannot  be  censured  for  this,  as  they  hoped 
and  believed  that  treachery  and  deceit  were 
things  of  the  past.  When  Lola  had  finished  her 
remarks,  Mr.  Stanton  said: — 

*'I  fear  that  you  allow  the  individual  wrongs 
committed  against  you  to  sway  you  in  your  judg- 


fcfi   FALSE    STAR.  5.61 

tnent.  Think  of  the  blessing  it  will  be  to  this 
country,  if  I  am  right,  and  these  people  live  up  to 
the  constitution  they  have  adopted.  Nineteen 
years  have  elapsed  since  you  have  lived  among 
them,  and,  therefore,  you  have  not  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  noting  their  progress.  There  are  but 
few  of  those,  who  committed  the  awful  wrongs 
against  you  and  yours,  remaining  upon  the  scenes, 
and  they  suffered  much  for  the  terrible  mistake; 
therefore,  you  should  forgive  them:  *To  err  is 
human;  to  forgive,  divine.'  " 

**Ah!  Mr.  Stanton  the  words  quoted  from  Pope 
have  come  to  my  mmd  many  times,  when  medi- 
tating upon  the  cruel  treatment  inflicted  upon 
me  and  mine  by  these  people.  I  have  prayed  for 
the  full  pardon  of  each  participant  in  those  cruel 
deeds.  When  I  spoke  a  moment  since,  I  held  no 
malice  for  former  wrongs;  I  was  thinking  only  of 
my  country.  I  have  studied  her  history  many 
times.  Her  cause  has  become  a  part  of  my 
being,  as  I  have  found  that  under  her  beneficent 
laws  man  can  best  prepare  for  a  home  in  heaven. 
Her  constitution  absolutely  separates  church  and 
State  and  grants  freedom  to  each  individual  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience,  but  opposes  the  licentious  practice  of 
the  plurality.  Each  star  upon  her  flag  has  ever 
been  true  to  these  sacred  principles;  therefore,  I 
love  my  country  with  every  fibre  of  my  being. 
I  would  sacrifice  my  dear  boys,  Sylvester  and 
Howard,  upon  the  altar  of  my  country,  if  it  was 
necessary  to  save  her  flag  from  dishonor." 

86 


562  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

As  she  said  this  she  pointed  to  Sylvester  and 
Howard,  while  her  hand  trembled  and  the  tears 
glistened  in  her  eyes.     She  continued : — 

**They  are  bone  of  my  bone,  flesh  of  my  flesh; 
I  love  them  as  I  love  mj^  life.  Ah !  far  better 
than  life,  as  I  would  forfeit  my  life  to  save 
theirs;  but  I  have  taught  them  that,  should  their 
country  call,  they  must  respond  and  go  where 
duty  leads  imder  her  sacred  emblem.  There- 
fore, Mr.  Stanton,  you  can  readily  see  that  it  is 
the  love  of  my  country  which  impelled  me  to 
speak  as  I  did,  I  pray  for  the  best,  and  will 
rejoice  with  the  nation,  if  it  come ;  but,  when  I 
think  of  the  deception  connected  with  the  found- 
ing of  this  church  and  the  long  train  of  crimes 
perpetrated  by  its  members  since  its  organization, 
I  am  constrained  to  ask,  'Can  the  Ethiopian 
change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots?'  There- 
fore let  all  present  hear  this  prediction,  that  as 
long  as  the  Latter  Day  Saints  are  in  the  ascend- 
ency in  this  new-born  State,  and  her  star  shall 
remain  upon  the  American  flag,  it  will  be  what  I 
saw  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  'The  False 
Star.'  " 

•'  A  thousand  years  scarce  serve  to  form  a  state 
An  hour  may  lay  it  in  the  dust." 

— Byron,  Childe  Harold. 


EPILOGUE. 

For  forty-five  years  prior  to  the  issuing  of  the 
proclamation  by  President  Cleveland  declaring 
Utah  to  be  a  State,  the  Saints  had  bent  every 
energy  to  bring  about  this  condition.  During 
all  these  years  they  imagined  that,  if  they  only 
had  the  State  government  in  their  control,  they 
would  be  free  to  act  in  all  matters  as  they  desired. 

At  first,  it  was  believed  by  the  statesmen  of 
the  land  that  the  only  tenable  ground  for  denying 
statehood  was  that  the  people  of  the  dominant 
church  believed  in  and  practiced  polygamy. 
Statehood  had  been  denied  a  number  of  times 
upon  this  ground,  and,  while  Schuyler  Colfax  and 
party  were  there,  the  Saints  took  particular  pains 
to  commit  them  to  this  stand.  Mr.  Colfax  had 
scarcely  reached  the  limits  of  the  Territory  before 
every  plan  was  arranged  by  the  Saints  to  ask  for 
this  coveted  prize  along  the  lines  indicated  by 
him;  but  soon  another  question  came,  into  the 
fight,  which  was  the  persistent  efforts  of  the 
Saints  to  blend  church  and  State. 

On  the  defeat  of  statehood  at  that  time,  renewed 
energy  in  unearthing  crimes  and  prosecuting  the 
criminals  of  Utah  became  the  order  of  the  day. 
The  long  train  of  crimes  committed,  criminal  pros- 
ecutions, convictions,  sentences,  and  carrying  the 
same  into  execution,  portrays  the  depths  of  degra 
563 


564  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

dation  into  which  the  Saints  had  fallen.  These 
criminal  prosecutions  seemed  to  be  the  crucible 
through  which  they  must  pass  in  order  to  Ameri- 
canize them.  Finally,  it  appeared  that  the  dawn 
of  civilization  beamed  on  their  benighted  condi- 
tion. The  prayer  circle  was  abandoned,  and  blood 
atonement,  or  murders  according  to  revelation, 
ceased.  There  was  a  great  diminution  in  all 
manner  of  crimes.  American  politics  came  into 
their  midst,  and  all  the  members  of  the  priest- 
hood declared  that  the  brethren  were  free  to  act 
as  they  pleased  in  all  matters  of  State.  To 
crown  the  work  of  deception,  a  revelation  was 
received  and  ratified  by  the  whole  church,  abjur- 
ing the  practice  of  polygamy.  The  time  had 
come  when  the  noon  of  civilization  seemed  to 
light  the  whole  of  this  great  republic,  even  the 
land  of  Zion. 

Upon  these  apparent  conditions  the  enabling 
act  for  Utah  was  passed,  which  was  accepted  by 
the  adoption  of  their  constitution  on  which  the 
President  issued  his  proclamation  on  the  4th  of 
January,   1896. 

No  sooner  was  the  celebration  which  followed 
over  than  the  dignitaries  of  the  Mormon  church 
began  to  violate  in  every  way  possible,  the  terms 
of  the  compact  existing  between  the  nation  and 
the  State  of  Utah,  for  they  now  felt  that  they 
could  defy  the  American  people. 

The  legislature,  which  was  about  three-fourths 
Saints,  convened  at  once;  the  saintly  dignitaries 


TOE    FALSE    STAR.  565 

appointed  a  committee  of  five  trusty  members 
of  the  priesthood  as  a  steering  committee.  The 
duties  of  this  committee  were  to  investigate  all 
matters  pending  before  the  legislature,  and,  if 
anything  was  objectionable  to  the  dignitaries,  the 
committee  were  to  indicate  it  to  the  saintly  legis- 
lators, which  was  a  death  blow  to  the  pending 
act.  Thus,  all  things  went  in  harmony  with  the 
will  of  the  annointed  under  the  hand  of  secrecy, 
which  afterwards  came  to  light. 

The  annual  conference  of  the  church  convened 
at  Zion  in  April;  and,  while  the  people  of  the 
United  States  were  treating  them  with  every 
courtesy,  then  and  there  the  Saints  demonstrated 
that  every  promise  and  representation  made  by 
them,  prior  to  statehood,  was  intended  as  an 
infamous  deception  to  hoodwink  the  government 
into  granting  State  power.  A  manifesto  was 
presented  for  ratification,  signed  by  the  three 
members  of  the  first  presidency,  ten  of  the  twelve 
apostles,  the  patriarch,  the  seven  presidents  of 
seventies,  and  the  three  members  of  the  presiding 
bishopric.  This  long  document,  couched  in  many 
expletives,  declared  in  effect  that  church  and 
State  are  not  separate  in  Utah,  neither  are  the 
Saints  free  to  act  in  matters  of  State  as  they 
choose,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  must  consult 
their  file  leaders  on  all  matters  whatsoever.  It 
came  like  a  thunderbolt  from  a  clear  sky ;  a  few 
of  the  Saints  voted  against  it,  which  brought 
them  under  the    ban   of  condemnation;    others 


566  THE    FALSE     STAR. 

refused  to  vote,  which  was  sufficient  cause  for 
ostracism,  but  the  affirmative  vote  was  over- 
whelming. 

This  document  was  signed  by  the  present  con- 
gressman-elect from  Utah,  who  is  one  of  the 
presidents  of  seventies,  who,  prior  to  statehood, 
had  declared  many  times,  "That  he,  who  attempts 
to  dominate  the  State,  as  a  churchman,  is  not 
only  an  enemy  to  the  church,  but  a  traitor  to  the 
State."  The  masses  of  the  church  interposed  a 
strong  objection  in  words,  during  the  next  week, 
and  even  threatened  to  defeat  it  at  the  stake  con- 
ferences. The  secret  hand  moved.  When  the 
document  was  submitted  for  their  ratification, 
they  marched  into  the  different  places  of  meeting, 
like  slaves  fearing  the  sting  of  the  lash,  and  voted 
their  freedom  away.  From  that  day  almost  every 
Saint  declared  this  manifesto  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  many  pledges  and  promises  made  before 
statehood. 

There  were  two  of  the  twelve  apostles,  Anton 
H.  Lund  and  Moses  Thatcher,  who  did  not  sign 
this  manifesto.  Lund  was  presiding  over  the 
European  mission,  urging  the  sixteen  hundred 
missionaries  forward  to  gain  converts  along  the 
lines  indicated  by  Heber  C.  Kimble.  Thatcher, 
who  resided  just  across  the  street  from  the  taber- 
nacle where  the  conference  met,  was  confined  to 
his  room  from  serious  sickness.  A  committee 
from  his  quorum  waited  upon  him  for  his  signa- 
ture; he  protested  and  asked  for  time.      He  was 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  567 

granted  an  hour  and  a  half  in  which  to  make  up 
his  mind.  At  the  expiration  of  the  time  granted 
he  returned  the  document,  with  a  short  note  say- 
ing in  effect  that  he  could  not  endorse  it  without 
stultification.  The  recalcitrant  Thatcher  was 
never  mentioned  as  an  apostle  afterward,  his 
name  being  dropped  that  afternoon.  As  soon  as 
he  had  passed  the  danger  line  of  his  sickness  his 
quorum  met  and  tried  him,  without  even  prefer- 
ring charges  against  him.  He  was  graciously 
informed  of  the  time  and  place  of  meeting,  but 
refused  admission.  He  plead,  in  an  open  letter, 
for  written  charges  to  be  preferred  against  him 
and  that  he  be  given  a  hearing,  but  to  no  avail. 
This  letter  was  a  masterly  plea  for  Americanism. 
In  it  he  stated,  in  substance,  that  to  disregard 
the  promises  made  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  before  statehood  was  stultification,  that 
stultification  was  dishonor,  and  dishonor  worse 
than  death.  Thatcher  was  at  once  reduced  to  the 
rank  of  a  lay  member.  His  party  elected  all  the 
embers  for  the  legislature  at  the  following 
November  election  but  three.  It  was  known  at 
this  election  that  he  was  a  candidate  for  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  a  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature,  so  elected,  were  pledged 
to  him  by  implication.  He  refused  to  beg  leave 
of  his  superiors  (?)  to  be  a  candidate.  The  secret 
hand  moved.  He  and  his  supporters  began  to 
see  the  effect.  He  called  upon  young  Utah  to 
stand  by  him  for  American  principles.     In  this 


568  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

letter  he  said,  among  other  things,  **No  legislator 
can  keep  his  oath  of  office  inviolate  if  he  or  she 
allow  the  officials  of  an  ecclesiastical  organization 
to  control  his  actions  within  the  province  of  the 
State."  With  this,  the  fight  became  bitter.  It 
was  anything  with  the  leaders  of  the  church  to 
defeat  Thatcher.  The  ecclesiastical  pressure  be- 
came so  great  upon  some  of  the  saintly  members 
of  the  legislature  that  they  declared  openly  that 
they  were  not  free  to  vote  as  their  conscience 
dictated.     Thatcher  was  defeated. 

The  dignitaries  of  the  church  declared  the  utter- 
ances of  Thatcher,  as  quoted,  to  be  apostasy. 
He  was  tried  for  his  standing  in  the  church  and 
convicted.  He  was  sentenced  to  be  cut  off,  except 
he  acknowledge  that  his  utterances  were  wholly 
wrong.  He  yielded,  and,  by  so  doing,  held  his 
membership ;  thus,  American  patriotism  perished 
in  the  Mormon  church. 

Meanwhile  the  prayer  circle  was  reorganized. 
Polygamy  was  re-established,  the  present  con- 
gressman-elect being  among  the  first  to  again 
assume  this  relation;  and  soon  illegitimates, 
on  every  hand,  began  to  swell  the  numbers  of 
•'Utah's  Best  Crop." 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the 
mining  company,  in  which  Vernon  Stanton  and 
Adrian  Waltham  owned  the  principal  stock,  was 
held  at  the  office  of  the  company  in  the  city 
of  Ziou  on  the  3rd  of  January,  1899.  Adrian 
Waltham     was     here    in    attendance,    and    had 


*THE    FALSE   STAR.  569 

brought  his  family  with  him  to  the  city.  The 
company  decided  on  giving  a  banquet  on  the 
following  evening.  Alter  the  meeting  was  over 
and  all  arrangements  for  the  banquet  were  per- 
fected, Mr.  Stanton  and  Jed  Worthen  accompa- 
nied Adrian  to  the  Allison  home,  to  meet  Lola 
and  the  children  and  her  foster  parents,  who  were 
now  getting  old  and  feeble.  On  arriving  at  the 
Allison  home  they  were  surprised  and  delighted  to 
meet  Willy  and  his  family,  also,  they  having  just 
arrived  a  few  hours  previous,  from  their  home  in 
New  York,  to  visit  his  parents  while  Adrian  and 
his  family  were  there.  It  was  a  happy  reunion, 
and  during  the  meeting  the  conversation  turned 
to  the  present  conditions  of  Utah.  After  Mr. 
Stanton  had  thoroughly  explained  everything  and 
expressed  himself  upon  the  question,  Lola  said  :— 

"You  seem  to  have  changed  your  opinion 
about  the  Saints  since  I  was  here  three  years 
ago." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  Stanton,  "I  am  thoroughly 
disgusted  with  their  actions.  They  have  broken 
all  of  their  most  sacred  pledges  made  to  the  gov- 
ernment." 

"I  feared  these  conditions,"  said  Lola,  "but 
you  thought  it  was  prejudice  in  me  when  I 
expressed  myself  so  strongly  about  the  matter 
at  that  time.  In  the  face  of  all  that  you  have 
said  as  to  the  conditions  existing,  I  earnestly 
hope  that  Congress  will  never  permit  a  man,  who 
is  living  in  open  violation  of  the  solemn  compact 


57©  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

between  the  people  of  this  State  and  the  United 
States,  to  take  a  seat  in  that  august  body.  I 
pray  that  our  Cohimbia  may  never  be  humiliated 
by  witnessing  such  a  sad  spectacle.  She  has 
been  entitled,  'The  queen  of  the  world  and  child 
of  the  skies. '  This  is  certainly  a  true  sentiment 
of  this  glorious  personification,  and  I  cannot 
believe  that  our  statesmen  will  allow  her  to 
become  a  laughing  stock  for  the  rest  of  the  civil- 
ized world. ' ' 

"We  already  have  a  man  in  the  United  States 
Senate  who  was  elected  by  a  violation  of  this 
solemn  compact.  It  is  known  of  all  men  in  Utah 
that  Thatcher  was  defeated  by  the  interference 
of  the  dignitaries  when  the  junior  member  to  the 
Senate  from  this  State  was  elected;  besides,  the 
senior  senator  is  not  entirely  free  from  violating 
this  covenant  you  speak  about. " 

**How  was  that?"  asked  Adrian. 

"He  was  at  a  loss  as  to  how  he  should  vote  on 
the  Hawaiian  annexation.  He  desired  to  know 
some  things  connected  with  the  local  conditions 
at  the  island,  which  he  could  not  ascertain  except 
he  go  in  person  or  send  a  representative.  He 
selected,  as  his  official  plenipotentiary  extraordi- 
nary, the  president  of  the  faculty  of  the  Brigham 
Young  academy  and  college  of  the  Garden  City, 
on  whose  report  his  vote  as  senator  was  cast. 
This  man,  like  the  congressman-elect,  is  living  in 
open  violation  of  the  law  with  reference  to 
polygamy. ' ' 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  57I 

**If  these  are  the  conditions,  Utah  certainly 
presents  a  blooming  spectacle  to  the  world, ' '  said 
Adrian. 

**You  may  begin  to  bet  your  last  dollar  that 
these  are  the  exact  conditions  in  a  nutshell, ' '  said 
Jed.  "Not  only  do  these  conditions  exist,  but, 
when  war  with  Spain  was  declared  and  the  Pres- 
ident called  for  volunteers  and  Utah's  quota  was 
assigned  to  her,  the  dignitaries  of  the  church 
could  not  keep  their  hand  out  of  that  matter. 
Instead  of  allowing  the  Saints  to  enlist  of  their 
own  free  will,  as  American  citizens,  one  of  the 
twelve  apostles  (Brigham  Young)  speaking 
authoritatively  in  the  tabernacle  at  a  Sunday 
meeting,  advised  the  young  men  of  the  church 
not  to  answer  the  President's  call,  but  to  buy 
bonds.  The  press  finally  began  to  ask,  'What  is 
the  matter  with  Utah?  She  seems  a  little  back- 
ward in  rallying  around  the  flag. '  Then  it  was 
that  the  real  motive  of  Young's  advice  was 
learned.  It  was  designed  to  show  that  the  first 
presidency  of  the  church  had  more  power,  even 
in  this  regard,  with  the  Saints  than  did  President 
McKinley.  They,  the  first  presidency  of  the 
church,  now  issued  their  call  for  volunteers,  and 
the  young  Saints  barkened  to  the  voice  of  their 
masters  and  filled  the  ranks  at  once.  But  speak- 
ing of  blooming  spectacles  reminds  me  of  the 
fact  that  the  Saints  are  still  allowed  to  issue  a  cir- 
culating medium — a  right  denied  to  the  States. ' ' 


572  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

The  banquet  the  next  evening  was  a  brilliant 
affair.  About  two  hundred  guests  were  present, 
all  prominent  Gentiles.  There  were  a  number 
of  patriotic  after-dinner  speeches,  all  referring 
to  the  conditions  existing  with  reference  to  Utah 
and  greatly  regretting  that  the  Saints  had  violated 
the  solemn  compact  existing  between  the  State 
and  the  Federal  government,  some  advancing 
the  idea  that  the  government  was  powerless  to  do 
anything  in  the  premises,  as  Utah  was  now  a 
sovereign  State  and  that  it  was  in  the  hands  of 
her  people,  alone,  to  determine  whether  they 
would  keep  the  conditions  of  the  contract  or 
violate  it  at  pleasure.  The  speakers  were  all  free 
to  confess  that,  if  the  Federal  government  had  lost 
jurisdiction  and  had  no  power  to  right  the  wrong, 
then,  indeed,  was  Utah  in  a  deplorable  condition, 
as  it  was  manifest  that  a  great  majority  of  her 
people  had  set  at  defiance  the  terms  of  the 
enabling  act  and  her  constitution. 

Mr.  Stanton,  as  toastmaster,  called  upon  Hon. 
William  Allison,  as  the  last  speaker,  to  respond 
to  the  all-absorbing  question,  ''Has  the  Govern- 
ment a  Remedy?" 

Willy  arose  amid  a  storm  of  applause,  and,  as 
he  looked  on  the  assembled  guests,  a  gleam  of 
intelligence  beamed  from  his  coimtenance.  He 
caught  the  approving  smiles  of  his  sister  as  the 
cheering  ceased,  which  filled  him  with  enthusi- 
asm, and  he  replied  as  follows: — • 

**Mr.  Toastmaster,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  — 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  573 

**If  I  were  called  upon  by  the  American  people 
for  advice  in  the  premises  I  would  say,  'Do  right* 
The  question  would  then  arise,  'What  is  the  right 
thing  to  do?* 

"It  has  been  suggested,  and  I  believe  it  is  a 
fact,  that  one  of  the  senators  from  Utah  was 
elected  by  a  violation  of  that  clause  in  the 
enabling  act,  which  was  accepted  and  inserted  in 
the  constitution  of  the  State,  which  says,  *No 
church  shall  dominate  the  State  nor  interfere 
with  the  functions  thereof. '  Also,  that  the  other 
senator  appointed  as  special  representative,  upon 
whose  report  the  vote  of  the  said  senator  upon  an 
important  question  would  depend,  was  a  man  who 
is  living  in  open  violation  of  another  clause  in  the 
compact  which  says,  'Polygamy  shall  be  forever 
prohibited  in  this  State.'  Not  only  this,  but  a 
g^eat  majority  of  the  people  of  the  State  recently 
said,  by   their   votes,   to   the  American    people, 

*Go  to with  this  clause  in  the  enabling  act 

which  you  thereby  forced  into  our  constitution, ' 
by  electing  a  representative  to  Congress  who  is 
living  in  open  violation  of  this  clause. 

"Again  it  is  asserted,  on  good  authority,  that 
the  dominant  church  of  this  State  appointed  a 
steering  committee,  from  its  priesthood,  to  super- 
vise the  acts  of  its  legislature  during  an  entire 
session. 

"It  is  further  demonstrated  that  many  members 
of  the  Mormon  church,  of  all  classes,  have 
-resumed  the  practice  of  the  blessed  (?)  plurality. 


574  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

The  governor  of  the  State,  a  strong  Mormon,  in 
speaking  against  the  policy  of  electing  a  man  in 
the  condition  of  the  congressman-elect,  shows 
conclusively  that  he  has  full  knowledge  of  this 
flagrant  violation  of  law;  yet,  there  are  no  pros- 
ecutions. He  was  very  solicitous  about  the  fair 
name  of  Utah,  and  the  Saints  in  particular,  for 
political  purposes  and  to  pose  as  a  man  without 
guile  before  the  true  citizens  of  Utah  and  the 
nation.  If  the  said  executive  of  the  State  would 
see  that  the  laws  were  executed  and  that  the 
transgressors  were  put  behind  the  bars,  his  words 
would  have  the  ring  of  sincerity  instead  of 
political  buncombe.  Why  are  the  laws  of  this 
State  in  this  regard  not  enforced?  It  is  because 
of  church  domination. 

"I  say  to  you,  my  friends,  that  this  question 
rises  higher,  sinks  deeper,  and  spreads  wider 
than  any  political  issue  that  is  before  the  Amer- 
ican people.  It  strikes  at  the  foundation  of  every 
American  institution.  The  corner  stone  of  the 
great  republic  is  'That  church  shall  not  dominate 
State. ' 

"I  know  that  every  true  American  citizen  in 
Utah  or  elsewhere  is  opposed  to  this  violation  of 
the  solemn  compact  by  the  Mormon  people.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  the  Federal  government 
is  powerless  to  act  in  the  premises.  If  so,  we 
have  reached  a  condition  in  the  affairs  of  man 
where  there  is  a  wrong  without  a  remedy;  such 
does  not  seem,  to  my  mind,  to  be  a  legal  proposi- 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  575 

tion,  to  say  nothing  of  equity.  If  the  people  of 
the  State  can  ride  down  one  clause  in  the  compact 
and  cannot  be  called  to  a  halt  by  the  general 
government,  they  can  ride  down  all  and  trans- 
form the  State  into  a  theocracy  or  any  other  fofm 
of  government  they  choose;  and  the  people  of 
the  land  would  be  compelled  to  sit  supinely  by 
and  see  the  work  go  on.  If  the  Federal  govern- 
ment could  act  after  all  the  conditions  of  the  com- 
pact were  broken,  it  can  act  when  one  is  broken. 
If  one  party  to  a  contract  violates  any  part  of  it, 
the  instrument  becomes  void  at  the  election  of 
the  innocent  party. 

'*The  government  of  the  United  States  has 
kept  its  part  of  the  contract  with  Utah  in  every 
particular.  A  majority  of  the  people  of  Utah  has 
not  only  violated  it,  but  they  have  thrown  defi- 
ance into  the  teeth  of  the  citizens  of  this  land  by 
electing  one  of  the  chief  law  breakers  to  the 
lower  house  of  Congress. 

"The  Salt  Lake  Tribune,  together  with  many 
of  the  good  citizens  of  Utah,  declare  that  they 
will  contest  the  seat  of  the  congressman-elect  on 
this  ground.  AVhy  administer  punishment  to 
him  and  not  to  those  who  endorsed  his  lawless- 
ness? If  Congress,  after  having  legal  proof  that 
the  conditions  of  the  compact  have  been  violated, 
allows  the  enabling  act  to  remain  upon  the  stat- 
utes will  it  not  thereby  acquiesce  in  the  wrong 
and  be  estopped  from  preventing  the  congress- 
man-elect from  taking  his  seat?    If,  on  the  other 


57^  THE    FALSE   STAR. 

hand,  the  law  creating  the  State  was  repealed, 
would  not  the  constitution  and  all  laws  of  the 
State  made  thereunder  become  void?  In  this 
case,  would  not  Utah  again  become  a  Territory 
with  the  same  laws  in  force  as  were  in  existence 
before  passing  the  enabling  act?  If  it  is  purely 
a  political  question  the  courts  of  the  land  would 
have  no  authority  to  act.  If,  indeed,  this  plan 
should  be  viewed  with  disfavor  by  our  statesmen, 
and  the  opinion  should  prevail  that  the  State  had 
gained  constitutional  rights  which  would  give 
the  courts  jurisdiction  in  the  premises,  should 
not  the  government  institute  proceedings  in  the 
courts  to  annul  the  compact  on  the  ground  of 
conditions  broken?  In  either  case  the  effect 
should  be  the  same — the  re-establishment  of  a 
territorial  government  in  Utah.  In  the  first 
case  if  the  constitutional  rights  had  accrued,  it 
would  force  the  Saints  to  be  the  plaintiff,  in  case 
it  was  carried  to  the  courts.  They  could  not  go 
into  court  with  clean  hands,  therefore,  the  court 
would  leave  them  as  it  found  them.  In  the  second 
case  the  government  would  be  the  plaintiff,  and 
when  it  was  demonstrated,  by  evidence,  that  the 
compact  had  been  broken  and  that  statehood  for 
Utah  had  been  obtained  by  fraud,  would  not  the 
decision  be  the  granting  of  relief  to  the  innocent 
party?  Fraud  cuts  down  every  barrier  to  right- 
ing the  wrong. 

"There  is  no  middle  ground  upon  this  question. 
It  may  be  urged  that  there  is  no  precedence  for 


THE    FALSE    STAR.  577 

such  a  proceeding,  granted.  Neither  was  there 
a  precedent  for  Magna  Charta,  but  where  is  the 
man  who  questions  its  validity?  There  was  no 
precedent  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
nor  the  reconstruction  of  the  Southern  States, 
but  who  questions  the  right  in  either  case? 

"This  republic  must  preserve  its  dignity.  The 
fundamental  principles,  upon  which  the  super- 
structure of  the  government  rests,  must  be  pre- 
served at  any  cost.  When  a  thing  is  right,  do  it 
without  stopping  to  consider  precedence.  Acting 
along  these  lines  has  made  this  the  greatest  gov- 
ernment under  the  sun.  Public  opinion  is  the 
Areopagus  from  which  there  is  no  appeal.  I 
believe  that  it  is  the  public  opinion  of  the  people 
of  this  great  land,  that  the  Mormon  people  have 
been  weighed  in  the  balance  and  found  wanting. 
I  am  unqualifiedly  in  favor  of  everything  that  is 
calculated  to  perpetuate  this  government,  which, 
apparently,  is  as  solid  as  the  rocks  in  the  eternal 
hills.     May  she  ever  be  thus. 

"When  the  sun  shall  light  the  eastern  shores 
for  the  last  time  in  the  history  of  this  earth,  and 
he  peeps  through  the  spires  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains  upon  the  broad  and  beautiful  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  thence  through  the  Rocky 
heights  and  the  Sierra  Nevadas  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  may  he  give  light  for  the  last  time  to  the 
grandest  nation  of  the  earth.  With  her  same  flag 
still  flying  from  every  spire  within  the  bounds  of 
its   broad   limits;    with   every   man,  woman  and 

87 


578  THE    FALSE    STAR. 

child  shouting  in  exulting  tones,  that  can  be 
heard  from  ocean  to  ocean  and  from  the  great 
lakes  on  the  north  to  the  gulf  on  the  south,  the 
immortal  words  of  Webster  at  the  unveiling  of 
the  Bunker  Hill  monument,  'Thank  God,  I — I 
also — am  an  American!'  May  its  reverberating 
roar  be  caught  up  by  the  spirits  of  departed 
patriots  from  this  land  and  wafted  to  the  paradise 
of  God.  But,  in  order  for  this  glorious  scene  to 
take  place  with  all  the  blessings  that  would 
accompany  it  to  the  human  family  at  large,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  church  and  State  be 
forever  kept  separate  in  every  State  in  this 
Union." 

THE    END. 


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